Mac rues Well’s sorry exit
STEPHEN McMANUS enjoyed some memorable moments in Europe when he captained Celtic in the Champions League.
But Motherwell’s early European exit is in stark contrast, and one of his most disappointing and frustrating moments of his career.
Stuart McCall’s men blew a two-goal lead in their home tie against Icelandic side Stjarnan, and after twice leading in the away leg, still managed to lose 3-2 in extra-time.
“It’s not as though we weren’t in good positions at different stages during both legs, and that is one of the most frustrating aspects of it,” said McManus.
“At Fir Park, we were two goals ahead and cruising. But we conceded two penalties and from being in a strong position, we put ourselves under pressure by losing two away goals.
“We managed to take the lead not once but twice over in Iceland, and still couldn’t see the game out before losing in extra-time.
“We all know we should have performed better. We should have managed to see it out and get ourselves in the next round.
“You work hard throughout last season to secure a European position, and then don’t perform and end up out of the competition straight away.
“It’s certainly a sore one for us to take.”
But McManus is determined not to allow their European exit to impact on their start to the new league campaign.
The Fir Park outfit earned plenty of plaudits last term for finishing second in the table and the former Scotland skipper is setting the bar high again.
He said:“It’s going to be extremely difficult to emulate what we achieved last season, but we will give it our best shot.
“We’ve got an ambitious bunch of players at the club, and we want to be up there and the top end of the table challenging again.
“So despite the European setback, we’re aiming for a positive start.”