Well boss gives Steelmen vote of confidence
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson took some comfort from his side clinging on to get a draw against Livingston. He admits the Steelmen are low on confidence after losing four successive matches and hopes avoiding defeat yesterday will spark an upturn in their fortunes. His side took the lead against Livi but ended the match grateful for a 1-1 result after playing the last few minutes with 10 men. Robinson said: “It was a tough game. The biggest thing for me was the resilience shown not to get beaten. “I think you can see the nervousness because we had lost our last four games. “You can see the nerves with the fans as well. “Yet the only strike they had on target was an absolute wonder strike. “Sometimes you just have to give people credit for that. “I think we dealt with the adversity and I have to give credit to their character. “We know we need to be better and we need a bit more composure. “When things are going against you it is easy to give up. “But when we went down to 10 men, we didn’t, so that is a positive. “We have stopped the rot and now we have a few weeks to get ready for the St Johnstone game.” The Fir Park gaffer admits some of his players are performing well below their best. They continue to look laboured in attack and too often rely on a long ball. He went on: “Of course certain individuals are not playing as well as last season, and that is down to confidence. “We need to get better when we’re on the ball and we need more quality in the final third of the pitch. “Confidence is everything in football and that comes with results. “This is a massive point for us.” Robinson felt his team were harshly dealt with by referee Willie Collum. The whistle sent off Carl McHugh with 12 minutes remaining after showing him two yellow cards. McHugh’s second booking – given for a challenge on Angolan striker Dolly Menga – did seem a little soft. Robinson was in no doubt that his team should have completed the 90 minutes with 11 men. He said: “I thought Carl’s second yellow was extremely harsh. “I haven’t spoken to the ref as there is no point. “We could have had a penalty as well. “I haven’t seen it back but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was blatant.”