THEY are the little and large, the old and the young and the inspiration behind a run of results that could be the foundations upon which Motherwell build and ultimately maintain their Premiership place this season.
On Tuesday night, Scott McDonald and Lee Erwin put St Mirren to the sword and lifted Ian Baraclough's side ten points clear at the foot of the top flight standings. Two neat finishes took Erwin's tally for the season to four but, importantly, his contribution for the last two matches to three goals. After seeing his strike partner net twice early on, McDonald clinched the points just before the break, before substitute John Sutton added a shine to the scoreline and hit a late brace to complete a 5-0 rout for Motherwell at Fir Park.
With Lionel Ainsworth and Marvin Johnson providing attacking impetus from the flanks, Motherwell proved too hot to handle for a shaky St Mirren defence, and Erwin is confident there is more to come from a flourishing front line.
"Scott is great, he is always talking me through every training session and every game," Erwin said. "He moans, but it is all for a good reason. It is positive rather than negative. Before Scott came, I was playing out wide or just off and I wasn't playing as an out-and-out striker.
"It is great [to have Marvin and Lionel], they are two really quick and skilful boys. They always get into good positions so it is up to us to get into the box and finish it off. There is quality in the last third."
Having recorded a hat-trick of wins for the first time this season, Motherwell have given themselves a fighting chance of avoiding the Premiership drop. Victory over Partick Thistle this weekend could take them above Ross County, who face St Mirren on Monday evening, and to within a point of the Jags.
"We want to try and catch Ross County and Partick Thistle but we just need to focus on ourselves," Erwin said. "It was another great win on Tuesday night and we have been great in the last three games. There is a lot more confidence now compared to the first half of the season when everybody was a bit down, especially after finishing second last season. We weren't getting the results but, since the turn of the year we have been a good team."
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