Russell admitted United’s opponents today are behind the Old Firm on merit, but insists their position can become increasingly hard to hang on to.

“It’s going to be really tough because Motherwell are having a brilliant season so far,” he said. “They are really flying and have been more consistent than everyone else, but that means you are there to be shot at. We found it when we were sitting high up the table, teams raise their game against you and every match gets a wee bit tougher. Other players look at the team sitting in third and want to beat them to prove they should be up there, too.