Robbo: Well need to put theDundee nightmare to bed for good
LADBROKES PREMIERSHIP
STEPHEN Robinson had barely set a foot back in Fir Park before the rug was wheeched from underneath him.
Just five days had passed from the moment he had come back to Motherwell as first-t eam coach when it happened.
In his first game back in the home dugout after a spell managing Oldham, Robinson saw Mark McGhee’s team being pulled apart by Dundee in what turned out to be the Scotland No.2’s last game in charge.
Down 5-1 by half-time, the goals may have dried up in the second half but it wasn’t enough to soak up the fury in the stands which eventually seeped into the boardroom as McGhee was dismissed just three days later.
Now manager himself at Motherwell, Robinson reflects on that eye-opening reintroduction as he ponders Dundee coming back to the scene of the crime tomorrow.
“Modern technology allowed me to book a flight back home again,” he joked. “I hadn’t signed a contract by that stage!
“It was obviously a horrible game to be involved in. People didn’t perform on the day, they let themselves down.
“They most certainly need to put that performance to bed. We have spoken about it and we are a different team now in terms of our attitude, desire and playing in the right areas of the pitch.
“We know this is going to be a tough game. In the 5-1 defeat we didn’t match their aggression or desire, and that can’t happen. It’s as simple as that.”
That defeat was a turning point for more reasons than one.
At Fir Park those in charge took immediate action to relieve McGhee off his duties and since Robinson has arrived results and performances have improved, despite the fact the threat of relegation either directly or via a play-off is still real as they sit 10th in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
FOR Dundee, the fallout from that win has been even more catastrophic. That game back on February 25 turned out to be the last win Paul Hartley would enjoy as Dens Park boss, seven defeats on the spin since costing him his job earlier this month.
Saturday will see Neil McCann take his first game as Hartley’s replacement.
“Neil can’t sign any new play- ers so the difference it will make is maybe two or three percent. Boys are stepping up to the plate. They’ll run a bit further or put their head in a bit more,” said Robinson.
“But we will match that. Our standard is set now and every game we go out we have to match people for desire and energy. Maybe that’s what we didn’t do in that 5-1 defeat.”
If Robinson and his team get their first win over Dundee this season tomorrow, they will open up a five-point gap over their opponents and potentially a 10-point chasm over bottom side Inverness.
He added: “I’m not someone who finds excuses. We deal with what is in front of us and that’s Dundee. We can put a little bit of distance between ourselves and them with a victory.
“We have just focused on that. We can’t affect other results but we can take care of ours. Every game is a big game. We said the one against Inverness gives us a chance of a little bit of a cushion and this is the same.
“It’s a game that won’t make sure we stay up or go down but it’s massive psychologically.”