King Louis in search of a crown
WHILE his reign as the king of Fir Park may not extend beyond this season, Louis Moult is eyeing a conquest that would be recalled for decades.
Rationing was still in place when Motherwell lifted the League Cup for the one and only time back in 1950.
No major silverware has entered the club’s trophy room since a Scottish Cup success 26 years ago.
Legendary status was bestowed upon each and every player involved in those generation-spanning triumphs. Moult now senses this could be the time for new names to enter the pantheon.
His regal reputation among Motherwell fans has already been strengthened. On Thursday evening, his two goals helped Stephen Robinson’s side sweep aside Aberdeen. Their reward for that hugely impressive 3-0 victory is a Betfred Cup semi-final against Rangers next month.
Fulfilling the dream would require victory at Hampden being followed by another against either Celtic or Hibernian in the final. That could look an epic task given the disparity of resources. But then much seems possible with Moult in his current form.
Out of contract next summer, the 25-year-old insists thoughts of his future are for a later date. If he is to exit, he would love to leave behind a legacy of tangible success.
‘Even the word “legend” means so much to me and my family,’ said Moult. ‘If we can achieve that, I’ll try my absolute hardest to help this club get there.
‘It would be massive, but we believe we can do it. We believed we could beat Aberdeen. You saw that from the first minute and I believe we can win it.
‘It would be unbelievable for myself and the club. The football club deserves a little bit of success. We’ve had some difficult times and the fans deserve it more than anything.
‘They turn up to every game and look at that support at the end of the Aberdeen game, it just epitomises what this club is all about.’
Motherwell suffered heartbreak against Rangers in last season’s Scottish Cup. Ahead through a Moult goal, they leaked two concessions to Kenny Miller in the final six minutes.
‘That will probably get mentioned — that we took them right to the wire at Ibrox,’ added Moult. ‘We know we can do it and we know there is something special happening here at this club.
‘We lost 2-1 to Rangers on the first day of the league but this team is totally different now. The way we play, we’ve all bedded in and got to know each other. We have a philosophy now, we now know what we’re good at. We’ve a squad of workers and hungry players.’
Moult will aim to reproduce his most recent display when Aberdeen return to Fir Park on league duty tomorrow lunchtime. The fact the Pittodrie club had a £350,000 offer rejected for his service in July was a prominent feature in the build-up to Thursday’s game.
‘I didn’t even think about it, to be honest,’ the Englishman insisted. ‘I saw a few comments from the gaffer to go and prove why they came in for me and make them regret they didn’t sign me.
‘But I just approached the game like any other, tried to score some goals and I was lucky enough to do that.’
Neither was Moult troubled by Derek McInnes describing elements of Motherwell’s approach as ‘very simplistic’.
‘Well it’s obviously effective, so if we are winning games off the back of what we are doing why should we change?’ added Moult. ‘We shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter what people say about us.
‘You can’t say one player played badly in the last six games. Everyone is working hard, there is a passion at this club from the top to the bottom and everyone has bought into it.’
While Motherwell continue to thrive — having taken 10 points from the last 12 available in addition to their semi-final slot — Aberdeen are wondering why cracks have appeared.
After two unconvincing Premiership draws, the way in which they were overpowered at Fir Park was alarming. Captain Graeme Shinnie is adamant the same can’t happen again tomorrow.
‘This was a massive wakeup call for the whole team,’ said Shinnie. ‘We can’t just turn up and expect to win.
‘We have great ability in the squad and players we know can win games for us. But first and foremost you have to work hard for each other. If you do that then the other parts of it come through afterwards.
‘We have not had too many of these results in my time at Aberdeen but it doesn’t make it any easier. It simply wasn’t good enough from anyone in the team, right through from me to everyone else.’