Motherwell v Saints preview

Last updated : 21 January 2010 By Stuart Gillespie

In April we went there for a lunchtime game in front of the Setanta cameras and managed a fine 2-0 victory - our first league success of 2009. Although we already have a couple of them under our belt in 2010, our away record has been pretty poor of late as we've lost our last five games on the road. Even though it's now ESPN the game will be shown on and the Fir Park pitch now has a bit of greenery, it's a nice omen and hopefully history can repeat itself.

Saints boss Gus MacPherson keeps saying he feels we're capable of challenging for the top six this season and if he really means that then this is the sort of game we have to take something from. Motherwell are just a few points ahead of us and we've already managed a win and a draw against them. A win is not out of the question, while a point would be a decent outcome when you consider Motherwell destroyed Kilmarnock away from home last Saturday - although they did lose to Inverness Caley Thistle a few days later!

The attempt to go through the season with just three centre halves has somehow managed to last until January before hitting real problems. Both Lee Mair and Chris Innes have been struggling with injuries this week and are doubtful for tomorrow's game. If one of them is fit, preferably Innes, then we should be OK, but if both are out things could be interesting at the back. John Potter is assured of his place, while we'll probably see Jack Ross or David Barron move into the middle and Steven Robb put in at leftback - unless Mo Camara is fit.

If there's no need for Robb to play at the back then it's about time we saw him start in midfield. We have no width and no natural left footer in the side, so playing Robb on the left side of midfield would go solve both problems. With Robb fit, Stephen McGinn gone and Stephen O'Donnell struggling when he starts, there really is no excuse for it not to happen. The rest of the side will probably be along similar lines to the one that faced Hearts last week, with Craig Dargo and Billy Mehmet remaining up front. Chris Smith and Tom Brighton are still out.

This will be the first home game for interim Motherwell boss Craig Brown following a number of postponements during the festive period. Mothewell surprised everyone by mutually consenting Jim Gannon, who only arrived at Fir Park in the summer, and then surprised everyone again by bringing in Brown. It's five years since he last had a job and it'll be interesting to see if this one is given to him on a permanent basis. Considering the amount of veterans he was sticking with towards the end of his Scotland days, it'll be interesting to see how he does with a relatively young squad.

One of the stars of that squad is Ross Forbes, who burst into the first team this season. He's grabbed the opportunity Gannon presented to him with both hands and looks like the next star off the Fir Park production line that has produced the likes of James McFadden, David Clarkson and Stephen Pearson in the last 10 years or so. The Saints defence - whoever makes it up - will have to watch him tomorrow along with winger Jim O'Brien, while former Saint John Sutton and Everton loan striker Lukas Jutkiewicz will also prove a handful. John Ruddy has proved to be a fine goalkeeper since being loaned from the Goodison Park outfit, while Giles Coke was plucked from the English lower leagues by Gannon and has proven there's more to him than just a slightly amusing name.