Pedro doesn’t have to concern himself with the final, he’s not in it. It means everything for us to get through.. everyone who works here got a bonus for winning, that’s how together this club is
SAYS STEPHEN ROBINSON
FABIO CARDOSO’s nose ended up shattered while Pedro Caixinha’s was left out of joint.
But Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson reckons his Rangers counterpart should keep his beak out of Fir Park business.
Caixinha was raging at Well for roughing up his side in Sunday’s brutal Betfred Cup clash and the fallout continued in to Monday as the under-fire Portuguese gaffer claimed the Steelmen would see red in the Final.
But Robinson had a subtle pop back and said: “Pedro has made a comment but he doesn’t have to concern himself with the Final.
“He’s not involved so it doesn’t matter to him if we have 11 players on the pitch or not.
“But if I compare Motherwell to Rangers – because we just beat them and are close in the league – we have committed 115 fouls and they have committed 112.”
The only figures that matter though are Motherwell 2, Rangers 0. Well have a final to look forward to and Robinson is determined to savour every second.
It’s especially sweet given the gloom at Fir Park not so long ago. Back in the spring Robinson had the weight of the world on his shoulders as his side fought against relegation and potential devastation the drop would have on the club.
The Northern Irish boss built an entire squad for peanuts with a squad wage bill less than Rangers’ Carlos Pena earns in a season – and bagged a cup final spot.
Robinson said: “You do enjoy it more given where we have come from. We haven’t put this squad together for a lot of money. Last season operations chief Alan Burrows told me 23 people could lose their jobs if we went down.
“The pressure wasn’t cranked up at all! But seriously, you walk around the offices and realise the buck stops with you and the players.
“To stay up and then give them a day like Sunday, the look on their faces was amazing.
“Guys like Alan MacDonald, the kitman, has been at Motherwell forever and the passion on his face was something. The experience of celebrating in the dressing room afterwards was priceless.
“It was hard to take it all in. I had my family there and that was great.
“My dad promised he would only come if we got to the Final so that was massive pressure.
“It was enjoyable. I was drained at the end and disappointed I couldn’t get on the pitch at the end, for doing very little.
“But it really was a massive achievement for a club this size considering the scale of the finances.
“We are proud but we won’t get
carried away as a club and football staff. We need to keep going.”
Motherwell are a tight-knit club and everyone behind the scenes picked up a bonus.
It might not have been much but it was something, while the players turned down the offer of a cup final suit.
This lot are happy to keep the trackies on and show their style on the pitch – and it’s this attitude Robinson believes is key.
He said: “The togetherness is incredible. Jim McMahon, the chairman, made a gesture afterwards that summed up this club.
“Everybody who works at the club got a bonus for getting to the Final.
“It’s not a big, life-changing bonus, it might only get you and your partner a meal.
“But that’s what we could afford and it speaks volumes for the club and the board.
“When we win – everybody wins. The money probably didn’t matter to them as much as the buzz of winning.”
Motherwell’s cup high won’t be brought down by the gripes about the method of their win on Sunday.
Midfielder Andy Rose insisted Well are not the bully boys some are making them out to be after outmuscling Gers at Hampden.
He said: “If you meet us as a group of players I don’t think you’d say there are many bad boys in that changing room.
“We are a humble group of players who want to fight, work, win every loose ball and work really hard. It’s a great thing to be a team people don’t want to play against.
“That’s not about being overly physical, it’s about being a hard-working group of players who will run as far as we can and work as hard as we can.
“That’s our identity and obviously we have some very talented footballers.
“It wasn’t our best match, we’ve played much better football throughout the season. But we have to win matches and Lewis Moult steps up at key times and scores two key goals.”
Rose insisted Well will have no trouble getting their heads right for Dundee tonight.
He said: “The boys enjoyed it on Sunday evening and it was great to think, ‘Brilliant, we’ve made it to a cup final’ but now we have a big match on Wednesday night. It’s massive.
“We are excited to get back out there. When you are winning football matches you just want to keep going.”
It was a massive achievement for a club this size, considering the finances ROBINSON