Fearless Mccall says fortune can favour the brave
takes three or four games into the season before you feel at your sharpest.’
Assistant manager Kenny Black and chief scout Bobby Jenks will take in this evening’s La Liga opener against Atletico Madrid as Levante begin their season three weeks after Motherwell became competitive.
Tom Hateley hopes to hear a scouting report to the effect that the Spanish are booked for a more sluggish start to the season than last term. For Levante were unbeaten in the league until late October, winning seven straight matches including a victory over Real Madrid to top the league before faltering at Osasuna.
‘Like them, we were pretty smart too at that stage last season,’ recalled Hateley. ‘A Spanish friend of mine who I went to school with sent me a message when they were in the middle of that run with a link to a column in a Spanish newspaper calling Motherwell the ‘Scottish Levante’!
‘It’s weird how we come around to be playing them now. That run and beating Real Madrid shows you the quality they’ve got. We go in as an unseeded side and the draws haven’t been kind to us, have they?
‘It’s still a good draw for the fans and good experience for us. We were unfortunate it the last tie, so hopefully this one can work out a bit better.
‘It’s a game to look forward to and I don’t think anyone will shy away from the challenge.’