The heady days of our first season in the SPL when we took points off of Motherwell for fun seem to be long gone. A draw against them is now a decent result for us, especially on their own patch, and after last week's result against Hibs it would be a decent recovery. However, Motherwell lost to Spanish side Levante during the week as they bid to make the Europa League so they may be tired, meaning this could be our best chance of the season to get a result against them.
Stuart McCall's side finished third last season, which was extremely impressive considering the form of Dundee United in the second half of the campaign. Reproducing that this time around could be difficult for them but that doesn't detract from the fact they are still a very good side and should, barring any disasters or departures, make it into the top six once again. This will be a stern test of our own chances of making the top half of the table and if we emerge from it with a victory then it will be a real statement of intent.
The good thing about going to Fir Park so early in the season is that their pitch should be in fairly good nick. In recent years it has been horrendous once we hit winter time, although in fairness last season it didn't seem too bad. It should suit our passing game but only if we make it work. If we play like we did against Hibs before Steven Thompson's goal last week then we will be in big trouble. If we play like we did after it then there is an extremely good chance we could head back along the motorway with at least a point.
When things weren't working last week Danny Lennon didn't hesitate to make changes, hooking Jim Goodwin and Graham Carey at half time, and now he must decide whether or not to revamp his starting line-up. Goodwin wasn't particularly impressive, partly because he was booked, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him keep his place to play on the ground where he scored an absolute screamer last season. Carey is more likely to be dropped, with David Barron putting in a decent display when he came on last week. However, Barron wasn't playing as a fullback and putting him in means we'd have to make do without Carey's attacking attributes, although it's hard to think of a time he really used them last week.
Far more problematic is the loss of Darren McGregor, who is sadly going to be missing for some time for the second season running after doing the ligaments in his other knee last week. It's a huge blow to both him and the team and leaves us with just Marc McAusland and Lee Mair to play in the middle of defence. Despite having two available rightbacks last week it was McAusland who started there but McGregor's injury will probably mean David van Zanten is restored to the side. Lewis Guy is available again and could start in a bid to inject some movement up front, while Gary Teale and Jon Robertson probably did enough in the second half to be considered as well.
I thought Motherwell were taking a huge risk when they appointed McCall at the start of last year to take over from Craig Brown as his record from his time at Bradford City wasn't exactly impressive. However, not for the first or last time, it demonstrated how much I really know as the Steelmen had a sensational time last season and looked at one point as if they would finish above Rangers and claim the Champions League spot on merit. Even though they finished third they still got it due to the fun and games going on at Ibrox but unsurprisingly they lost to Panathinaikos - which would probably have happened to oldco Rangers.
So, with a third place finish - the best any team outside the Old Firm could expect before this season - and a wee stint in the Champions and Europa League qualifiers you'd expect Motherwell to have a bit of money to spend on new players. Erm, no. So far McCall has been able to bring in just two defenders - Simon Ramsden from old club Bradford and Birmingham's Fraser Kerr - and even that is only on loan. It's not a good state of affairs considering he lost Stephen Craigan, Steve Jennings and Tim Clancy for various reasons over the summer and he'll be hoping to bring in a few more players before the window shuts next week.
Tomorrow will see us go up against one of our former players in the shape of Michael Higdon. The big striker swapped Renfrewshire for Lanarkshire last summer to replace another former Saint John Sutton, who was moving to Hearts. The move paid off as Higdon promptly scored 16 goals, although has yet to manage any against us. He was criticised by many for his apparent lack of effort during his time in Paisley and is also criticised for his work rate at times by Motherwell fans but I'd be more than willing to put up with that due to the number of goals he provides. He's also the last man to score a winner at Fir Park for Saints. He's not the only attacking threat we need to watch out for - Omar Daley and Chris Humphrey have pace while Henrik Ojamma was outstanding in the first half of 2012. Jamie Murphy is also still at the Steelmen although there are occasionally rumours linking him with a move to England and last week's display against Kilmarnock may rekindle that interest.
A few other players at Motherwell were also the subject of transfer speculation recently, although the suitors of Nicky Law and Shaun Hutchison were told where to go as the bids were way below what Motherwell were after. Goalie Darren Randolph is surely another who will attract interest from down south and Steve Jennings could also be destined for bigger things if he can overcome last season's serious injury. We also need to watch out for Tom Hateley as he's pretty handy with a set-piece - his late free-kick at Greenhill Road this time last year handing Motherwell all three points.
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