McGhee sets goals for his players against Hibs

Nov 19 2008 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

SHOT-SHY Motherwell will be hoping to end their goal drought this weekend when they take on Hibernian at Fir Park on Saturday.

The Fir Parkers have failed to find the back of the net in their three previous outings despite creating a number of opportunities.

Last weekend, whilst being far from their fluent best, The Steelmen, had chances to get on the scoresheet against Falkirk but failed to take them, resulting in a 1-0 defeat that saw them drop to seventh in the table.

And with back-to-back games against the Old Firm now out the way they will be hoping to find their touch soon as they head into a vitally important run of games against teams round about them in the SPL.

Manager Mark McGhee admitted after Saturday’s game at Falkirk that his squad would be working on their forward play in the build-up to this weekend.

He said: “I’m not going to harp on about the chances (against Falkirk) because they mean nothing if you don’t take them.

“They were the better team on the day, regardless of chances we had before they scored.”

He added: “We’ll be working hard in training to rectify the goals to chances ratio.

“But it’s not just a case of standing strikers in front of goal and throwing balls at them, it’s about movement, amongst other things.”

Striker John Sutton was signed on a free contract in the summer as a replacement for Ross McCormack.

However, despite the 24-year-old former St Mirren forward performing admirably for his new team so far, there is no doubt the Lanarkshire outfit have missed the presence of McCormack who signed for Championship club Cardiff in the summer.

The former Rangers striker has been in irresistible form for his new club with his 12 goals already this season having earned him a recall to the Scotland national squad before injury forced him to call off.

But McGhee insists that it is not just the responsibility of the strikers now at his disposal to create and take chances.

The Motherwell gaffer said: “Even in the last 15 minutes when we were really going for it against Falkirk we had two or three chances to get the early ball into the box and never took them.

“So it’s not just about the strikers and taking chances, it’s about providing good service.”

Chris Porter has failed to reach the heights of last season but nevertheless he could be another striker that could be on his way out the door in January.

The target man has been linked with a move to Championship outfit Sheffield United and his manager has admitted he is almost powerless to do anything about it if Porter decides to move on.

He said: “He came here trying to get himself a move to the bigger time and money in England.

“That's what he's here for and we are benefiting from that.

"We shouldn't shy away from it, that's the reality.

“We take the best out of players we can get and, if they move on, then they move on.”

Meanwhile another striker, David Clarkson, will be hoping to earn a starting berth in tonight’s (Wednesday) glamour international friendly against Diego Maradona’s Argentina.

With Kris Boyd’s premature retirement from international football and a raft of front-line call offs (Kenny Miller, Steven Fletcher and Ross McCormack), Clarkson will be hoping to at least play some part in the game.

He said: “You want to prove you deserve to be here by showing just how good you are and it’s great to be among the boys in training.

“I am really looking forward to the game and hopefully I’ll get on the pitch at some point.”