AS EVEN the staunchest 'Yes' voter may discover this fateful Friday morning, change, however much craved, can bring a thrill of excitement and a frisson of dizzying apprehension.
Ross County had given Jim McIntyre their vote last week against illustrious, glamorous alternatives such as John Hartson and Winston Bogarde.
All those elements of excitement, anticipation and thudding nervous tension were apparent in the Dingwall air yesterday before kick-off as the club's new direction dawned.
But sadly for County they couldn't avoid the ignominy of a sixth straight Premiership defeat, equalling Aberdeen's infamous top-flight run of 1999.
Remarkable second-half strikes from Iain Vigurs and John Sutton proved enough for Motherwell to break a run of four defeats without scoring, despite Liam Boyce banging in one near the end for the hosts.
Yet there was much to admire in County's plucky display, particularly in the first half and then again in their reaction to the loss of two goals.
Acknowledging as much, McIntyre, just four days into his new job, said: "I thought in the first half we had the edge and created a couple of good opportunities.
"They were positions where we really have to be pulling the trigger and getting our shot away. I thought the reaction from the players was good. They gave us everything and that was the most important thing."
Pre kick-off, matters were only marginally better for Motherwell, locked as they were in a four-game run of defeats without scoring. But they signalled their intention to break that sequence four minutes into the second period.
A Jordi Balk foul had ex-County man Vigurs lining up and the Motherwell man swerved a wonderful dead ball strike high beyond the diving Antonio Reguero. It was Motherwell's first goal since the opening day victory at home to St Mirren.
Another followed five minutes later, John Sutton collecting the ball 35 yards out and catching Reguero napping with an audacious 35-yard looping strike to leave County floundering.
Manager Stuart McCall said: "We scored two fantastic goals and it needed that to win it. We can be a lot better. The key thing now is we have players coming back to a good level of fitness and a strong squad now."
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