BRIAN MARJORIBANKS Sinking feeling for the Steelmen
But Lasley defiant as he plans to beat drop
IT remains the proudest moment of Ke it h Lasley’s career. As the strains of Zadok The Priest boomed out around Fir Park in July 2012, the Motherwell midfielder proudly led the Lanarkshire side into battle against Greek giants Panathinaikos.
That seemed a long time ago when Motherwell’s 11th- place finish was confirmed on Saturday after defeat to relegated St Mirren dropped them into the Premiership Play-Off Final.
The Fir Park club could now make t he unwanted j ourney f r om Champions League to Championship in under three years.
With a Mark O’Brien own goal having cancelled out John Sutton’s 75th-minute opener for Motherwell from the penalty spot, news had filtered through by stoppage time that rivals Kilmarnock and Ross County had both secured victories.
A winner for Motherwell would have taken Ian Baraclough’s men limping onto the final day of the regular season. But Stevie Mallan popped up with a stunning strike for the Buddies seven minutes into i njury t i me t o condemn t he Steelmen to the play-offs.
Afterwards, a defiant Lasley vowed not to go down as the captain of a sinking ship — but relegation is on the horizon in Lanarkshire for the first time in three decades.
The 35-year- old knows his side will have to produce a far better display than this performance in Paisley if they are to pull off the great escape.
‘I’ve had great highs at this club like the Champions League,’ said Lasley. ‘ But I ’ ve never been relegated and I don’t want to start now. I’ve been here a long time and Motherwell haven’t been relegated in 30 years.
‘I don’t want to be involved in that — and neither do my team-mates. We all know what relegation means in a sporting and financial sense.
‘It all comes down to desire. Who wants it most? We must make sure it’s us.
‘It’s disappointing that we never really got going against St Mirren, despite what was at stake. A defeat was probably the right result in the end.
‘If we had won, it would have been smash and grab. We never reached the heights we have in the last couple of weeks.
‘Results elsewhere mean we might have been up against it next week anyway. It was still disappointing to lose, because we had great support with us today.
‘The fans can rest assured we all know the importance of the matches coming up — and the ramifications for our club.’
When Baraclough was unveiled as manager in December, he spoke of wanting t o win t he l e ague eventually. Unless he can oversee a dramatic i mprovement, t he Steelmen will be looking at a tilt at the Championship ti tl e next season.
Motherwell’s sense of despair was deepened by the loss of Scott McDonald to a straight red card for an alleged elbow on Thomas Reilly on 88 minutes.
The Saints midfielder tumbled to the ground but later surprisingly backed the Australian’s bid to overturn the dismissal that could yield a three-game ban and see him miss the play-offs.
‘Scott is adamant it wasn’t an elbow,’ said Lasley. ‘Obviously, he is gutted to be red- carded at this stage of the season. But I’ve heard the lad Reilly has said it wasn’t an elbow so, hopefully, that can help Scott get it overturned.
‘We want to go into these matches with a full squad and Scott has had a big impact since he came back. But what will be will be.’
On a day when all four seasons visited Paisley over the course of 90 minutes, a chill went round the ground as Saints striker Alan Gow was stretchered off after a clash with Stephen McManus. Gow was sent straight to hospital with concussion.
Gary Teale’s men then looked to have lost the game when Reilly brought down Lee Erwin in the box. Substitute Sutton’s low penalty sent the packed stand behind the goal into raptures. Their joy would be short-lived.
‘Lee caught me,’ argued Reilly. ‘But I won’t say where he caught me. We got the win, I suppose, and that was the main thing. It’s been a long, tough season and we’ve ended up relegated. But it was nice to send the punters home happy.’
The game turned when the Buddies’ Jason Naismith admirably chased a lost cause. When he hit the ball speculatively towards goal, keeper George Long f ailed to collect and O’Brien nodded the ball horribly into his own net.
Mallan’s effort sealed the game and brought final confirmation that Motherwell were in the play-offs.
For Motherwell, a meaningless match at home to Partick Thistle now awaits next Saturday. But Lasley believes a victory can prove a springboard for survival ahead of facing a Championship side full of confidence and momentum.
‘We want to be going into the play-offs in a positive mindset,’ he said. ‘That’s why next weekend is so important to us, even if it won’t affect our league position.
‘But we believe we have the ability to go to any of the opponents and get the results we need.
‘ We showed that against Kilmarnock and Ross County recently. In the last six to eight weeks there has been an upturn of performance, if not today.’