IAN BARACLOUGH, the Motherwell manager, felt Kilmarnock would be starting to feel "edgy" after his side's 3-1 victory drew the Rugby Park side closer to the relegation play-off place.
Goals from Scott McDonald, Lee Erwin and Lionel Ainsworth consigned Kilmarnock to a seventh successive defeat and they now sit just three points clear of Motherwell with two games left to play.
Baraclough praised his players for their endeavours and felt that it would be Gary Locke's side now feeling the strain.
"I think Gary would have been feeling the pressure anyway," he said. "They've come here just to pick something up and they've not ... now it drags us closer. What happens in those situations all of a sudden is players get edgy, they make decisions they wouldn't make normally make and fans get edgy. I feel we are a side that's in the ascendency.
"We've got characters in that dressing room. We're organised, we've got pace in the team now and they're driving us forward. That's driving the club forward. By going out and performing the way they are, they are showing immense passion. No one wants to be in this situation where they can be shot at. But they've gone and performed. No one can be accused of not giving everything tonight."
Locke did not hide his disappointment. "We knew the situation - if we got a result tonight we would have been okay but the fact Motherwell have beaten us means we're now in the mix," he said. "There's no point feeling sorry for ourselves."
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