TALKING MOTHERWELL
KEITH LASLEY insists he has not thought about the possibility today could be his last game in a Motherwell shirt.
Instead, the Well captain is content to put his own circumstances on the back burner and end the season on a high in Inverness.
Lasley has been a fantastic servant to the Lanarkshire club over two spells going all the back to 1999.
However, with the 37-yearold’s deal up this summer, the future of the Motherwell stalwart remains unclear going into a new campaign that manager Stephen Robinson insists is a rebuilding job for the fan-owned club. His captain has always said he will know himself when it’s time to call it a day.
And, going into this afternoon’s final Premiership match of the season, Lasley is hopeful of a positive outcome both to the match and for the talks which are due to be held with Robinson at the start of next week.
“It’s been a hard one,” said Lasley about the prospect of this afternoon being his final fling for Motherwell. “I’ve been asked the question a lot.
“Because of the situation we’ve been in we’ve not had any talks and because my mind has been filled with keeping us up, it’s just been priorities on both sides.
“We have only been in training a couple of days and those discussions will start.
“The way the season has gone a lot of decisions are just starting to be made because we didn’t know where we are going to be.
“Now that is sorted the discussions will take place with not just myself but all the players.
“I’ll be speaking to the club. No decision has been made at this stage but I’m certainly hopeful I can stay at the club. We’ll have discussions in the very near future.
“There are a lot of factors to be taken into consideration. Whenever that decision is made whatever it may be, we will let it be known. Hopefully it will be the right decision for me.”
Ending the season on a high will be easier said than done given the circumstances.
As a result of the 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock on Tuesday night, Motherwell are now safe from relegation as everyone connected with the club breathes a collective sigh of relief.
Just as importantly, they are up against an Inverness Caley side who know only a win will do to keep alive the hope of avoiding the drop.
LASLEY said: “We want to make it a happy ending. It feels as if we have been playing under a lot of pressure for quite some time now to be honest.
“The last two games [wins over Hamilton and Kilmarnock] have been an illustration of that. The quality of the games wasn’t great and that comes from pressure, but we got the result.
“We want to finish in an upturn, go away in the summer with the determination to come back and work. It could leave you in a good frame of mind for next season.”
Reflecting on that win at Fir Park on Tuesday night, he added: “The fans have been there all season. They stay with us through thick and thin. It’s always been the case at this club, even long before me. They have been a constant.
“The last two games have been a massive illustration of that. To think of the support they took to Hamilton [2300], to walk out in front of them as a player is really what it is all about.
“That to me is the privilege of being part of this club. The other night to have the chance to say a thank you to them after the game was special. We want to do that again in Inverness.”