UNDERDOG OF WAR SET FOR BATTLE
STEPHEN ROBINSON has spent his career punching above his weight – now he’s urging Motherwell to fearlessly do the same when they go to Ibrox determined to floor Rangers.
The Well boss defied the odds by helping Luton up through the lower leagues in England and was part of the coaching set-up behind Northern Ireland’s rise to the last 16 of Euro 2016.
He revels in proving doubters wrong – so he has spent this week reminding his players about one of the last times they weren’t given hope going to Ibrox.
That was back in May 2015 when Robinson was assistant manager to Ian Baraclough and they were about to face Gers in a play-off to avoid relegation.
They won 3-1 before another hammering at Fir Park completed a 6-1 aggregate romp to keep the Ibrox side in the second tier.
Now Robinson wants his players to remember that as proof the odds mean nothing when you step on the pitch.
He said: “Being written off worked in our favour. We weren’t even there according to most pundits and it was just an automatic promotion for Rangers.
“But we used that to our advantage and went out to prove people wrong.
“That’s something I’ve been doing my whole career as a footballer and in coaching with Northern Ireland as well, we were always underdogs. Proving people wrong is lovely.
“I don’t mind being the underdog. At clubs like Bournemouth and Luton you’re either in administration or fighting money problems and always defying the odds.
“At Luton we got two promotions and were sitting top of the Championship.
“With Northern Ireland we got to the last 16 of the Euros with 35 professional players and only four of them in the Premier League, so whether I’ve been coaching or playing it’s always been the same.
“I would put Motherwell in that category. We’re a good club with a great history but financially we’re not one of the big boys and you’re constantly fighting against that.
“But I enjoy that and it’s definitely more satisfying when it comes off.
“We’re on a lower budget but we’ve got good people and there are people here doing two or three jobs.
“So when you’re successful you’re successful as a whole club. There’s no distance between the first team and Under-20s or the people who clean the offices.
“Everyone is together so when we get a little bit of success we all enjoy it.
“This game is similar circumstances because people expect us to go there and get beaten heavily.
“We’ve convinced these boys all week what we did before is possible again.
“I know they believe in what we’re doing and we’ll go there organised and with a positive mindset.
“We can take heart from that result and there are a lot of boys still here who were involved in that.
“You have to play against the team on the pitch, not against 50,000 people and not against the badge.
“We’ve got players who I believe could get in the Rangers team and we have to convince people here of that.
“We’ve concentrated very much on what we’re going to do at Ibrox and how we’re going to play and we’ve put a positive mindset across.”