Mick: Gers gaffe was career low point

MOTHERWELL defender Stephen McManus, at 34 years of age and with over 350 senior appearances under his belt, felt that he had experienced every emotion the game could throw at him.

Then, last Saturday, he attempted an ill-judged pass into the midfield at Ibrox with the scores level and the clock ticking into the dying moments of an energy-sapping Scottish Cup tie.

Seconds later, the ball was nestling in the back of the net behind him, and with it went all of the effort the Steelmen had put into a week of meticulous preparation and 90 minutes of draining toil.

Motherwell’s dreams of cup glory slipped out of their grasp for yet another year, and the feeling in the pit of McManus’s stomach as those stark facts hit home is one he will not likely forget in a hurry.

In fact, the feeling of despair as he faced up to his culpability surpassed any of the lows he has encountered in his 14 years as a professional.

“That’s the worst I’ve ever felt after a game,” McManus said. “At 34 you think you’ve seen and felt pretty much everything but I was devastated on Saturday and Sunday. That was the worst I’ve felt, there was no doubt.

“When you’re that wee bit older you think you’ve experienced pretty much everything that you can go through; the emotions, the highs, the lows, the feelings you go through if you’re not in the team, if you are in the team. But that was tough to take.

“When you get so close, after playing so well – not just me individually but collectively as a group – for the players, the fans, the management staff, you’re gutted.

“I couldn’t sleep on Saturday and when I did wake up on Sunday I was hoping it was going to be the 85th minute of the game but it wasn’t. It’s a mistake that I made, I was 100 per cent culpable but it’s done and dusted, you can’t change it.”

INDEED, football moves in mysterious ways, and McManus’s first shot at redemption comes against the same opponents when Motherwell take on Rangers at lunchtime today.

He is relying on the mental strength he has built up over his career to see him through what is sure to be a testing afternoon.

“The big thing for me was I wanted to get back into training on Monday,” he said.

“I don’t normally train on a Monday just to give myself an extra day for my body to recover, but I wanted to get back on to the pitch to try to eradicate it.

“I’ve played in a lot of games now for Motherwell, I can’t remember making a mistake like that before. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

“I’ve got to this stage in my career by being mentally strong and doing what I need to do to perform the next week on the Saturday. There was so many positives for us and that that’ss what we’re trying to focus on.”

Rangers may look to test McManus’s confidence early on today following last week’s gaffe.

But the defender sees areas where the home side can exploit their visitors, with preparations just as thorough as for last week’s cup game.

“Every team has strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “Rangers are the same. We will sit down and analyse it with the manager and coaching staff in video sessions.

“That’s how the game has evolved. I can’t remember doing too many of them with Martin O’Neill. It was a case of get the ba ll to Henr ik!”