ON THURSDAY he could barely tie his own shoelaces, such were the pulses of pain shooting through his back.

Come Saturday, Iain Vigurs was in fine enough fettle to put those laces through the ball to spectacular effect and soothe a little of the agonies of Motherwell's ailing season thus far. He then saw John Sutton score an even more eye-catching second to secure the points - even if the Lanarkshire side had to endure a nervy ending following Liam Boyce's late strike for the hosts.

Revelling in the surroundings of his former stomping ground, Vigurs' wonderful contribution ended his team's run of more than seven hours without a goal.

However, the swirling, pin-point free-kick early in the second half said nothing of the agony he had been in only a couple of days before.

The 26-year-old was initially told he had no chance of even travelling to the Highlands after a sudden back spasm immobilised him throughout Wednesday and Thursday.

He explained: "I came in on Friday in my normal gear fully expecting to miss the trip. But I had a word with the physio because I suddenly felt a lot better. So I went down to training, had a wee kick about to see how it was and then had to shoot back for my trackies.

"It just cleared, although it still hampered me a little bit against Ross County. But compared to when I could hardly move, it was quite a recovery."

The goal brought personal delight, but Vigurs knows just how important it was to Stuart McCall's toiling team.

Motherwell came north to tackle Jim McIntyre's new charges - the former Queen of the South manager having been appointed last Tuesday - after four straight league defeats.

"Moments like that just spur on the boys a little bit and kicks us into life - it was exactly what was needed," Vigurs said.

There was a buzz of anticipation at the Global Energy Stadium just a few days after McIntyre's unveiling as Derek Adams' successor.

County had also installed a singing section in one corner of the East Stand after consultation with supporters and, through a very positive first half performance, it seemed to enliven the ground.

While the hosts' energy and creativity threatened to open Motherwell up, a goal never came, despite debutant Michael Gardyne, Joe Cardle and Graham Carey all going close.

The visitors had begun to threaten late in the first period and took control when Jordi Balk gave away a foul 25 yards out.

Up stepped Vigurs and County supporters probably knew what was coming before he swerved his effort high past Antonio Reguero.

Worse was to come for the Spanish goalkeeper when the opportunist Sutton produced a phenomenal hit from 30 yards to catch the County keeper off-guard.

Irish forward Boyce came off the bench to pull one back from Carey's cross as County responded, but they remain empty-handed at the bottom of the table after six matches.

Statistics such as that won't bother McIntyre or assistant Billy Dodds too much at this early juncture in their Dingwall careers.

The pair would have learned much about where their team have been falling short, notably in their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. It was a theme Cardle, man of the match and McIntyre's former charge at Dunfermline, was quick to acknowledge.

The winger, signed from Raith Rovers in the summer, said: "When you are top, you need to be scoring goals. Coming in at half-time, we were happy with the performance but deep down I knew that Motherwell would get a lift from still being level. You can play all the pretty stuff you like, but it's about end product."