Steelmen slump to second-bottom in SPL

Dec 17 2008 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

MIDFIELDER Steven McGarry insists Motherwell must roll their sleeves up, fight hard and start scoring goals if they are to end a worrying run of form that has seen The Steelmen slump to eleventh in the SPL.

Monday evening’s defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock means the Fir Parkers have gone six games without a win and during that time they have only found the net on one occasion.

Their last victory was against Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton way back on November 1.

Both sides come face to face once again this weekend in a match that has added significance given they each occupy the bottom two positions in the league.

“We have got a good squad and when you look at the table it is hard to wonder why we are in the position we are in,” McGarry told the Wishaw Press after the 2-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock.

“But we are there so we have got to work hard and get out of it. We need to stick together and get through it.”

He continued: “The manager demands a lot better and the fans demand a lot better.

“People pay good money and even though we created a lot of chances (against Kilmarnock) we do not have the killer instinct.

“We just need to work hard and try and resolve it somehow.”

Shot-shy ’Well were rocked by the news that Scotland striker David Clarkson fractured his hand in a freak training accident at the weekend that ruled him out of Monday’s match.

And McGarry believes that he is currently a big loss to the side as they seek to end their goalscoring drought, saying: “Davie brings a lot of energy to the team and with his movement it does drag defenders out and it gives other players more space as well.

“But we need to be scoring goals from midfield as well. It is all over the pitch.”

The former St Mirren player was a frustrated man after the home defeat to Killie but admitted it was hard to pinpoint how they managed to lose a game they dominated for large spells.

He continued: “Territorially we had a lot of possession but they had a game plan and sat in and never really looked threatening at all.

“But that really is not good enough.

“We started off pretty well and had three or four decent chances to stick them away but we know we have also got to defend better.

“The big boy Pascali got in front of three of our boys and stuck it away for their first.”

A loss to Hamilton on Saturday would see Motherwell joint bottom of the league at Christmas and the 29-year-old midfielder knows how important the match will be.

“It is always a massive game for the fans never mind the position we are in,” he said.

“They (Hamilton) will have watched the game on TV and thought we are maybe a soft touch. But we will be up for the challenge and we know we need to do it for ourselves and get right up that table again.”

He added: “They have taken a wee bit of time to come to terms with the standard in the league but they definitely have some decent players.

“Everybody talks about McCarthy but the boy McArthur is a good player as is Alex Neil and Offiong is a dangerman with his pace.”

David Clarkson is doubtful for Saturday’s trip to New Douglas Park and could join Stephen Craigan and Brian MacLean on the sidelines.

But Paul Quinn is expected to take his place in the starting line-up despite an impressive home debut from 17-year-old Steven Saunders against Kilmarnock (see page 59).

The Lanarkshire derby will once again see Motherwell in front of the live cameras on Setanta Sports.

The game kicks off at 12.30pm.