Carl: We’ll be fine if we bottle Pittodrie spirit
CARL McHUGH reckons Motherwell will beat the drop if they continue to perform they way they did in their 1-0 loss to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
Returning to the stadium where they were hammered 7-2 just a month ago, the Steelmen put up a brave showing against the high-flying Dons.
Still under the temporary charge of Stephen Robinson, Well competed throughout the match only to be undone at the death by a Niall McGinn strike.
That goal meant Motherwell are four points off Premiership bottom side Inverness and just three away from second-bottom Hamilton.
However, McHugh has few worries for the future if the endeavour on display in the Granite City becomes a regular feature.
He said: “The bottom line is we still came away with nothing despite an improved performance and we need points with the position we’re in. It was a disappointing day.
“When we reflect on the game I’m sure we’ll see we did a lot of good things but it’s just disappointing that McGinn ran in from wide and got space in the box. Someone has to be closer to him but you can pick out a mil million things when you lose a goal and it would be better to focus on the positives when we look back.
“It’s tight at the bottom but it’s the same looking towards the top six. We need to focus on the next game and hopefully we’ll get the results moving forward.”
McHUGH didn’t play in last month’s demolition but it didn’t stop the Irishman watching on through the crackscr in his fingers as the goals flew past Craig Samson. I It was a different sort of p pain this time for the former B Bradford man who has exc celled in a makeshift role as aca centre-half to give advice to the in inexperienced Zak Jules and Ben H Heneghan.
“I fe felt we deserved something out of the game and we were gutted becausebe it would have been a mass massive result for us,” said McHu McHugh. “We’ve just got to keep our heads up and if we give that level of commitment and desire every week then I’m sure we’ll get our rewards moving forward.
“I didn’t play in the 7-2 game and I know that was a disaster but not getting something out of this game was hard to take because we gave a far better account of ourselves.
“Midfield is my preferred position but I can play at the back. I’ve played there before and I’ve enjoyed the last couple of games. Zak and Ben are young lads and maybe having a bit of experience and a talker can help in the backline.”
Meanwhile, McHugh reiterated his desire for Robinson, who will be spoken to today by the Fir Park board along with Simo Valakari, to get the manager’s job on a permanent basis.
He said: “You can see the players are giving Stephen everything. He’d be a great appointment moving forward.”