GALLAGHER’S FEET ARE FIRMLY BACK ON THE GROUND
TALK about a bump back to earth. For Declan Gallagher, any lingering glow from a first Scotland call-up was extinguished by the bitter disappointment of his latest club assignment. The central defender’s contribution to Motherwell winning five of their six previous games was recognised by Steve Clarke with a late place in the national squad for the games against Russia and San Marino. The former Livingston man didn’t get on the pitch, but mixing with the likes of Andy Robertson and John McGinn must have delivered a sizeable confidence boost. Not that Gallagher felt much like reflecting upon it. Pride in that achievement was the furthest thing from his mind after losing 3-0 to Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon. Instead, all his thoughts were on getting Stephen Robinson’s side back on track when they face a demanding trip to Ibrox on Sunday. ‘There are always ups and downs in football and today is one of the downs,’ the 28-year-old admitted. ‘But there is a game next week so we can’t dwell on this too much. Playing Rangers at Ibrox will be another hard one, but it’s one we are looking forward to. ‘The Scotland experience was great but I don’t want go too much into it. We are back in club football and we have been beaten 3-0 so it’s not a good day for the club and I would rather not talk about my highs. ‘Individual errors cost us in this game so we need to work hard and get back to winning ways if we can.’ Gallagher was involved in a personal contest with Sam Cosgrove, with one challenge denying the Dons striker a second goal. Cosgrove had earlier darted away from youngster Barry Maguire to dink the ball over Mark Gillespie. ‘He’s a great big player,’ said Gallagher of his 15-goal rival. ‘Any striker his height is a handful but he uses his body well and I can tell you he is not slow for a big guy. ‘He is a good player and someone on form just now. He has scored in a lot of games this season.’