Top man Tony strikes again
Andy McGilvray at Easter Road
Tony Watt reckons he’s hit the best form of his career at Motherwell this season and says it’s because he’s happy playing his football at Fir Park.
The striker scored his ninth goal of the season in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Hibs at Easter Road, levelling Kevin Nisbet’s wonder-strike.
The former Celtic star says having a club who believe in him has made a huge difference, and he wants to keep playing for as long as he can.
And Watt, 27, who is top Premiership scorer, played down recent talk of a Scotland recall.
He said: “I think this is the best I’ve played.
“At Lierse I scored maybe eight and one in the cup so that [this season] is probably my best. I have always been a reasonably decent finisher but before I was probably happy enough to do my work outside the box.
“I wasn’t as hungry or greedy but now I am shooting more and they are going in.
“I know I can score, I know I can hit the shots and do all the things a striker can do. It is just about really proving to people what I have always believed, which is that I am a good player and that when my mind is at it I can do whatever I want.
“I am happy. I am enjoying football again. There have been times in my life when I have hated it and there have been times when I have been happy and confident.
“Now I have got the love back so I am going to try and prolong my career as long as possible and, who knows, maybe in the next ten games I can get back in there in the Scotland squad.
“People always say that to me when I am doing well, but, look, they are in the play-offs so they are doing something right.”
The draw pulled Motherwell level on points with fourth place Dundee United ahead of Saturday’s match against Watt’s former side Celtic.
And he admits he’s content with his goal and a point from the capital.
He said: “Games like that against top opposition could go either way. We had our chances, they had their goal and a couple of wee sniffs.
“There is no shame in coming to Easter Road and getting a point.”
There was a moment when Watt could have levelled in the first half, but headed over.
He added: “I should have done better. I saw it coming down and I was shouting to myself, keep it down, keep it down. I don’t know if I misjudged the flight of the ball but I was telling myself to do the right thing and I did the wrong thing.
“That is the thing about being a striker, you miss the chances but as long as you are there to take one that is fine.
“It’s a header. Last season I would have probably tried to play it into feet short, and if you scored every chance you would be at Barcelona, Real Madrid. If I Iet a miss get into my head then the game is finished for me at 15 minutes. If I let that beat me up then give Hibs the win and I won’t shoot again.”
Well boss Graham Alexander said: “I would have felt aggrieved to have come away with nothing from that.
“I think in the first half we had some brilliant chances and we should have been in the lead at half-time, instead of a goal down.
“But we didn’t want to feel sorry for ourselves and make it a bad-luck story, we had to go and make it happen in the second half.
“We got a deserved equaliser, but we know we were up against a good team with a lot of support, and I think the players handled that really well.”