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MOTHERWELL defender Stephen McManus isn’t concerned about his side’s heavy defeat by Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday, admitting that recent exertions are starting to take their toll.
The Steelmen never got going in a 4-1 reverse to the Dons, Chris Cadden’s deflected goal the solitary bright spot for Well on a day when skipper Keith Lasley was sent off late on.
Despite the emphatic manner in which Mark McGhee’s men were turned over in the northeast, McManus insists that they deserve to be cut a little slack after a storming period that lifted them safely into a top-six finish.
“We weren’t really at it, I think you saw that from the start,” McManus said.
“Six or eight weeks ago, though, we came off the pitch after losing to Kilmarnock. We had lost 2-0 and we were thinking ‘where do we go from here?’
“So with where we have got to in recent weeks we aren’t going to get too disappointed about this result or performance.
“We are in a position where we haven’t got much to play for other than to finish as high as we can. Pittodrie is a difficult place to come but we never deserved anything.
“We had won seven out of nine, we were on a good run and there is a decent mood in the camp as we look towards next season.
“The manager is trying to get things in place to keep his squad in place for next year. It is now about getting some momentum for next season.”
The late, fiery flashpoint which led to Well captain Lasley being sent packing by referee Bobby Madden was entirely out of place with the rest of Motherwell’s insipid resistance on the day.
Lasley tripped Kenny McLean in the dying moments for what looked to be a bookable offence, and referee Bobby Madden seemed to agree as he pulled out the yellow card. There followed a stramash as Graeme Shinnie took exception to Lasley’s challenge, and it was then that fourth official Nick Walsh intervened to persuade Madden that a red card should be forthcoming.
“I thought the referee had a yellow card out and had sent ‘Las’ off for two bookings,” said McManus.
“I thought it was a yellow myself. I never thought it was a straight red. He has then got word from the fourth official or the linesman so that was disappointing.
“Emotions run high, even though it is the end of the season. You still want to finish well and you don’t want to be on the end of a 4-1.
“You want a bit of pride as well and when you see the opposition get heated it is a natural reaction to get involved.”
Despite the red card for Lasley and the impotence of Motherwell’s overall performance on the day, McManus believes that the Fir Park old guard have done enough to merit an extended stay at the club.
He hopes that his own future as well as that of elder statesmen such as Lasley, Stevie Hammell and James McFadden, can be sorted out over the coming weeks.
“The manager has spoken to the older boys as a group,” he said.
“I imagine we will sit down in a few weeks after we have got a few more games under our belts and then we will take things as it comes.”