Fitness not a factor in Fir Park loss

GRAHAM ALEXANDER insists Motherwell weren’t caught short by a lack of match sharpness in their first showdown with Sligo and that the stats back him up.

The Fir Park boss is adamant fitness wasn’t a factor in his side’s Europa Conference League second qualifying round first-leg defeat against a team 23 games into their domestic campaign.

Alexander has backed his players to climb through the gears at the Showgrounds tonight in only their second competitive fixture of the season.

He said: “I didn’t think we were that off the tempo. Given that was the first competitive game, I was happy with the players’ physical condition.

“I saw the stats from the game and their condition was high.

“Even in comparison with our first league game last season, which was maybe our fifth or sixth competitive game because of cup games, we were above that.

“But match sharpness and match intensity, you never get until that first competitive game. It’s just impossible to recreate.

“I don’t think that had anything to do with how the result went, to be honest.

“We gave a poor goal away and didn’t take the chances we had.

“We are looking forward to it. We knew the game would have to be won over two legs and that’s where we are now. We will give it our best shot.”

Alexander also believes the benefit of having another week’s training under their belts should see an improved performance.

The first leg, settled by former Falkirk and Hearts striker Aidan Keena, saw Well supporters boo the players off the park.

The 50-year-old, below, said: “The more 90 minutes you get into players, the better they become physically and mentally.

“I would like to think there will be a little bit more sharpness in terms of our movement and our thoughts. “If there was a criticism of our players, I thought we took too many touches in the first 20 minutes.

“We got into positions where we needed to progress play quicker. We took too much time, which allowed them to get behind the ball.

“But that may be in the thought process rather than their legs.

“I would like to think every competitive game we play gets us closer to where we want to be.”