Power play can land Steelmen Euro place

THE concept of player power might once have been enough to drain the colour from a manager’s face. For Graham Alexander, though, passing on the responsibility of how this season will come to be defined to his Motherwell squad has been key in them moving into an enviable position in the race for Europe. In the immediate aftermath of the dramatic late draw at Livingston which saw his side secure a top-six place, the Fir Park boss was adamant it would be his players who would decide how the rest of the campaign would be remembered. Although defeated by Rangers and Dundee United, the display at Tannadice suggested the challenge had been taken on board. Now, on the back of a pivotal win at Ross County on Saturday, Alexander’s men know they can tie up fifth place and a spot in Europe with a home win against Hearts tonight, provided the Dingwall men don’t cause an upset at Ibrox. ‘I believe a lot in players taking responsibility and us handing them that responsibility,’ explained Alexander (pictured). ‘We know our roles as coaches and managers. We have to lead the way and guide. ‘But it’s never down just to one man. I like to empower the players before a game (and remind them) that we’ve got good leaders and good characters. ‘What we set out at the start of the season to do was the top six. Anything after that would be an added bonus. I wanted to see if the players wanted to take that extra step. I already knew the answer — that they did want to take that.’ Kevin van Veen shrugged off a bug to come off the bench and hit the winner against Ross County, while Callum Slattery was also restricted to a substitute’s appearance and others missed out completely. Alexander has confirmed he has more selection issues ahead of tonight’s match. ‘A couple of lads have come back and trained but a couple more have caught the bug since the weekend,’ he said. ‘We will see how we are and pick the fittest team that we can because we are going to need all the energy we can get on the pitch.’