Team spirit helps Carroll settle quickly at Motherwell
MOTHERWELL full-back Jake Carroll has praised the camaraderie within the Fir Park dressing room for facilitating an easy settlement into Scottish football.
The 28-year-old was one of 11 signings that arrived at the club this summer as Stephen Robinson’s side underwent significant surgery but the Irishman believes the desire to create a proper team ethos off the pitch is behind players gelling together on it.
“I have been in other teams where people don’t really speak and it is dog eat dog,” said the former Cambridge player. “But the manager encourages the lads to get together and you can tell that. We are going for a coffee or going to the cinema and it is good. The intensity at training is also good. We are never allowed to slack off, we always have the GPS on and everyone is putting the work in every day so we are ready for a Saturday.
“The lads have been brilliant helping me settle in so it has gone well. It is just the way it is. It is quite a homely club. Everyone is tight and closely knit so it has been easy to settle. I don’t think they leave too many stones unturned. The manager lets you know exactly what he expects and I am starting to grasp what he wants from me now.”
The vast changes in personnel were reflected in a bumpy start to league duty. After impressing in the League Cup group this summer, there was a hiccup as Motherwell lost and drew their opening two league meetings before finding their feet in recent games with wins against Hamilton and Hibernian.
And Carroll concedes that there was always going to be a bedding-in period this summer given the volume of new arrivals.
“It was going to take time,” he said. “Looking at the results it has been up and down because we are still learning each other’s game. It’s a really strong dressing room.
“I know Hibs are a massive club and it was a massive game. We have had tough games so far against Hearts and Celtic and opposition has been high. To win it and win in that fashion was great.” KRIS DOOLAN had the welcome mat rolled out for him when he returned to face Partick Thistle recently with Ayr United, in more ways than one as it turned out.
Not only did the Firhill faithful give the Jags legend a rousing reception, but the home defence were more than hospitable too as they allowed him to score one of the three goals that saw his new side claim victory on his old stomping ground.
Doolan is hoping though that returning Ayr United hero Lawrence Shankland doesn’t have such an easy time of it as he comes back to Somerset Park for the first time tomorrow with his new Dundee United team-mates.
“It’s important to state that we’re not going out to play against Lawrence Shankland, we are playing Dundee United,” Doolan said.
“I understand there will be a spotlight on Lawrence coming back to the club he was at last season but I did that two weeks ago at Partick Thistle. That was what it was made out to be at Firhill.
“When I went back to Firhill I knew I was going to get a great reception before and after the game, which I did. I was always probably going to score because that’s what I’ve been doing at Firhill for 10 years and I think everybody knew that.
“From our point of view, it’s more about playing against Dundee United the team.
“Fair play to him [Shankland], he’s started the season excellently and I’m sure he’ll continue to fire in goals.
“I’m sure Ayr fans will give Lawrence the reception he deserves as what he did for the football club was tremendous.
“Sometimes players like that are irreplaceable. But this is about us as a squad and making sure we can replace those goals and that’s what we’ve done so far.
“If we can continue to do that throughout the season then the playoffs are definitely within our grasp.”
If Ayr manage to get a result against United tomorrow, their supporters may well be dreaming of even more than a place in the play-offs even this early in the season.
Ian McCall’s men are just three points adrift of the league leaders, despite United’s 100-per-cent record