NO SIDE WANTS TO TAKE US ON
McGinn: Teams don’t fancy new-look Well
Paul McGinn reckons nobody wants to come up against Motherwell right now and says coming away from Celtic Park disappointed with a 3-2 defeat says a lot about how they’re playing.
Motherwell bounced back from Kelechi Iheanacho’s 27thminute penalty opener and levelled through Apostolos Stamatelopoulos in 40 minutes, before the Australian gave them the lead from the spot 10 minutes into the second half.
Benjamin Nygren levelled for Celtic in 69 minutes, before
Daizen Maeda headed a stoppage-time winner to leave the Steelmen empty-handed.
However, McGinn knows his side will get a lot of plaudits for how they played at Celtic Park, providing stiffer opposition than more teams.
McGinn, who made his 100th appearance as captain on Sunday, said: “It says loads that we’re disappointed to be coming away from Celtic Park with nothing.
“I’m sure they would rather be in a better place than what they are, but we definitely made it tough for them.
“A wee break, and a wee bit of luck might have gone our way, but we’ll keep going and it will turn our way.
“It’s massive. You hear people talk and everyone knows it’s not enjoyable to play against us now – not that it ever was, but it’s in a different way now.
“Hopefully we can start punishing teams more heavily.
“Everyone knows a draw was probably fair, but that’s Celtic – they keep going and if you make mistakes they’ll pounce on it.
“I’m proud of the way we play. I think if you come here and just kick it long they’d just have munched us and beat us by a couple, so I like what we’re doing, and I wouldn’t change it.”
McGinn, 34, made his first appearance since a 2-2 draw at home to Kilmarnock on August 30, and was pleased to mark it with a milestone.
He said: “It was straight in at the deep end, but I like it that way, I’d rather just be back and playing.
“With Stephen Welsh unable to play, it made sense to put me straight in.
“One hundred games is a nice honour, there are a few of us in there, Callum Slattery and Stephen O’Donnell, so it’s nice to have some experience in there.
“It took a wee bit longer than I was hoping, considering I’ve been here for a while, but it’s good
to have. It was frustrating on a personal note to be out injured, but the boys did really well when I was out.
“Sometimes when you’re out it’s more frustrating when the boys are struggling and you want to really be helping them, but they seemed to be doing really well.
“That’s slightly easier, but frustrating personally.”
McGinn says the international break allows Motherwell to get injured players back, and after that they’re all gunning for a place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against St Mirren at Hampden on November 1.
He said:“I think you saw that with our subs – if we had maybe Callum Slattery or Callum Hendry, or whoever else, they could have come on and helped us out a bit with a bit of experience.
“It would be great if we could get them and Tom Sparrow back on.
“Then we will all be fighting for a jersey for the semi-final, so here’s hoping.”
• Meanwhile, tickets are on sale for Motherwell’s League Cup semi-final at
Hampden against St Mirren on Saturday, November 1 (kick-off 5.30pm).
Prices range from £15 to £36.
The club are running supporters buses from Fir Park to Hampden. The price is £20 per person. Buses will leave Fir Park at 4pm, with the Cooper Stand open from 1pm for refreshments.
Visit the club website for full details.