Work ethic is the key to our revival, says Lasley

NO ONE in the Motherwell camp is willing to think the unthinkable. Somewhere in the background, though, lurks a rather terrifying idea. Could the serial overachievers of Fir Park really turn out to be this year’s Hibs? Run through the check list. Midway through this season, they are in freefall but not yet in definite peril. They are under new management, being guided by a straight-talking gaffer who experienced a bit of a dead-cat bounce on arrival, but hasn’t yet effected a permanent turnaround in fortunes. They also have a huge number of players on contracts that expire at the end of this season, raising obvious concerns about how uncertainty might undermine moral. However, even more worrying than these similarities with the perpetually underperforming Hibs team — who ended up plummeting straight out of the top flight via the play-offs — is that all of this is so entirely unfamiliar for Motherwell players used to reaping rewards and fielding plaudits for exceeding expectations. Captain Keith Lasley, speaking on behalf of a side comprehensively defeated by Dundee at snow-swept Dens on Saturday, accepts that he and many of his team-mates are in uncharted territory, personally and professionally. Yet he insisted: ‘I wouldn’t say we’re in shock. We know the situation we’re in. It is something we’ve not been used to, that’s all. ‘But we have no divine right to be anywhere — and that was the same when we were doing well. ‘It is about hard work and determination, the ingredients that make a good team. ‘We aren’t showing enough of that. We still feel the ability is there but, without the other side of the game, ability isn’t enough. ‘It’s no use being a good player if you’re not willing to put in the hard work. We need to show that again. ‘We’re in a difficult situation and didn’t help ourselves against Dundee. It’s not good enough, end of story. ‘We must do better individually and as a group. Hopefully, we can start do to that as quickly as possible. ‘There’s no doubt about it, we’re in a poor position. It is up to everybody to drag themselves and the guy next to them out of it. ‘The most galling thing is we look like a team who are easy to play against. We must go back to basics and make ourselves hard to play against again.’ New boss Ian Baraclough spoke in scathing terms post-match about refusing to accept ‘mediocrity’ from his players; echoes of former Hibs boss Terry Butcher. Baraclough will certainly hope to add to his squad this month.