Tracksuits you sir
TOMORROW, HAMPDEN, 3PM, BT SPORT 1 Myboyscouldn’t look pretty if they tried so they’ll go to the Final in their working gear and I know we can win
STEPHEN ROBINSON will opt for his favourite Ted Baker number but insists it will be the boilersuit approach that can see Motherwell dressed for Betfred Cup Final success.
The Motherwell boss knows the statistics barely give his side a puncher’s chance of pulling off a shock over Celtic.
It’s 64 unbeaten domestic games and counting for Brendan Rodgers’s side but the Fir Park boss insists only by focusing on themselves can they come up with a winning formula – and a plan is already in place.
A mixture of bravado and defiance has Robinson talking up his side’s chances of a first trophy success since 1991 and he claims to have identified a chink in Celtic’s armoury.
He said: “Can we win? Yes. We’ve gone to Aberdeen and beat them 2-0 last Saturday, outplayed them and outperformed them. So why not? Why can’t we surprise Celtic?
“In 64 games people have tried. We know that and I’m not going to give them any motivation but we’re going to concentrate on our strengths and I genuinely believe our strengths are their weaknesses.
“I’ve watched Celtic a lot. I watched them against Bayern Munich but we’re certainly not Bayern Munich.
“We’re not going to play the same way. We’ve been looking at ways we can exploit our strengths.
“Everyone’s well aware of Celtic. We know what they’ve done, we know their players, we know what budget they have.
“But it’s about what we do, if we can produce problems for them, which I believe our style of play can – we put a lot of crosses into the box – we intend to do that on the day.
“We have a striker in Louis Moult who’s on fire at the minute. He can’t stop scoring goals.
“I’m sure Louis would be the first to admit we play to his strengths. We put a lot of balls into the box and create a lot of chances for him.
“He finishes them brilliantly. When you’ve got him in the team and Ryan Bowman up there as well, we’ve got boys who can win matches. It certainly gives you an opportunity to surprise Celtic.”
There won’t be any cup final frills getting in the way of Well’s game plan and Robinson revealed his players have already given him the right answer when he asked their preferred attire to wear to Hampden.
He said: “I gave the boys a choice. But they want to go to work and that means tracksuits.
“They want to go as they have done in all the games leading up to this final. So they aren’t changing anything.
“They want to be down to earth. We’re there to work. We’re going to try to win a football match, not to look pretty.
“Some of them couldn’t look pretty if they tried but that’s the mentality. They want to go and win this football match and are solely concentrating on that.
“But not me. I’m looking for a Ted Baker one. I’m not going out in a tracksuit – no chance!”
The 42-year-old Northern Irishman admits his side will be carrying the hopes of a town and a club that has suffered in tandem through economic hardships in recent times with administration and unemployment.
Robinson will also be thinking of those closer to his home as inspiration for a game in which Motherwell will require more than good wishes if they are to upset the odds on their way to glory.
He said: “It will be a proud moment for me but especially for the club. When I was first here you hear the stories and speak to Stephen Craigan and Keith Lasley.
“This club struggled at times. Lots of people lost jobs. It’s a community that suffered from a lot of job losses around the steelworks.
“So to go out and lead them with pride and maybe pull off a result would be absolutely huge for me. I’m proud to be at the front of it.
“A lot of people have played their part in me getting here.
My family and all the support you’ve been given as a player and a manager through dark times and hard times and injuries and what have you. It would be nice to
They want to be down to earth. We are there to work, to win – not to look pretty ROBINSON
have all my family there on the day.” Robinson is convinced a win over Celtic would represent the greatest success in Motherwell’s history as it would be combined with victories over Ross County, Aberdeen and Rangers earlier in the competition.
He said: “I would think it would be the best achievement. The club’s had a lot of success over the years.
“They have pulled off surprises and punched above their weight if I’m being honest. We topped our group by winning all four games.
“To go to Ross County and win with 10 men then beat Aberdeen and Rangers – we have done it the hard way. If you’re going to win cups you’ve got to beat those teams. Now we get a crack at the best team in the league.”
Robinson’s gamble of revamping his squad from top to bottom this summer has been rewarded by a start to the campaign in stark contrast to last term’s battle against relegation.
But he insists the surgery on his side had reached critical stage and he’s made sure character has been as important as ability.
Robinson said: “It’s always a risk when you bring that many players in. It needed done.
“I came in to a club where we lacked pace and energy. Things had got a bit comfortable and I needed to change the football club. We weren’t fighting relegation right up until nearly the last day of the season for nothing.
“Of course the risk is will people settle in? The money we pay for players you are always going to make mistakes, we can’t spend three or four million. It was a risk but it was necessary.
“They are all free transfers but we’ve got boys who were 21, 22, 23 who had a point to prove and maybe hadn’t been as successful as they should have been.
“But they have all had good characters with a hunger and desire. That’s what we had lost. “I had to make hard decisions with boys who had been brilliant professionals for this football club to let them go which was very tough. “But we did our due diligence and the surprise is they’ve all hit the ground running. There’s been one or two who maybe haven’t had as much of an opportunity because of our success but I think we’ve brought in really good characters.”