Stronger, fitter & faster
Watt: I’ve just played 120 mins followed by 90 minutes just three days later thanks to challenges the gaffer set me
TONY WATT aims to help Motherwell shine in Europe to repay Stephen Robinson for saving the striker from the soccer scrapheap.
The Fir Park side head to Israel to take on Hapoel Be’er Sheva on the back of a fine 3-0 win at Europa League rivals Aberdeen on Sunday.
Robinson took a chance on the nomadic forward when he returned from Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.
The Well boss has since turned the screw and was rewarded as fit-again Watt rolled back the years with a vintage display at Pittodrie.
Watt, who has top-level Euro experience from his time at Celtic, said: “He set me a challenge and told me when you get to this level fitness-wise you have a chance.
“I thought he’d have been a bit softer on me but he made me get to this level and that’s credit to him. I feel ever ything is coming into play more now like my technique because my fitness levels are high.
“I don’t think last year any manager would have played me 120 minutes in Europe and then another 90 minutes within the space of three days.
“That shows the trust the manager has got in me.
Everything is coming into play now as my fitness levels are so high TONY WATT IS DELIGHTED WITH HIS WELL PROGRESS
“I just want to keep repaying him and the club. I made a choice to come back home and I was just going to sign anything to get to play.
“But they’ve taken me off the scrapheap and given me a chance. It’s time for me to repay them with performances.”
Robinson reckoned it was his team’s best performances of the season at Pittodrie but Watt thinks they can still go up the gears in the Toto Turner Arena.
The former Celtic striker said: “That’s four wins out of five but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.
“But I still think we have got a lot more left in the tank. I don’t think that’s the best we’ve got in our locker.
“I’m not being cocky. I’m not being arrogant but I don’t think you’ll see a team go to Aberdeen and be that comfortable against them. That’s not me saying stuff so they can pin it up on their dressing room wall but if I’m being honest we were really comfortable.
“They’re a really good team with really good players and a lot of quality and experienced defenders. But we had a game plan and we were comfortable.”
Watt knows that Robinson has a band of brothers at Fir Park that will go to war for one another. The striker said: “Going into that battle on Sunday I looked around the dressing room and thought, ‘I’m happy with what’s around me’.
“I’d go to war for them but you give them the ball and you expect it back because they’ve got a lot of quality.
“It’s a great mix and you hear the manager from the side always on at us to get more out of us because he knows what is in us.”
Israeli clubs have made steady progress in recent years and Watt accepts they will be a step up from Glentoran and Coleraine.
He also knows Motherwell will need to be switched on and streetwise if they are to make the play-off round, where the winners of Czech side Viktoria Plzen versus Danish outfit Sonderjyske await.
Watt said: “We didn’t look at the Israel game until one minute after the final whistle against Aberdeen. Now we will go there with a lot of positivity. It will be a difficult game.
“You need to be a bit more calm when you’re playing in Europe in front of European referees. You need to be smart but I think we will learn from the other night.
“We need to be a bit more streetwise. We were lucky we got through that the other day.”