Arnott the star pupil as McLeish is happy with a lesson 'Well learned

gaffer, Alex McLeish, said as much after the classy Germans, Borussia

Dortmund, had knocked his team out of the UEFA Cup it sounded a bit like

the usual self-comforting remark, but McLeish has a few statistics to

offer as evidence that he was saying something meaningful.

Since that afternoon when Dougie Arnott was sent off against the

Germans in the second leg of that tie, Motherwell have played four games

and won three of them. The matches have not exactly been run-of-the-mill

affairs either, as they have met Celtic, Falkirk, Aberdeen, and Rangers,

beating all bar Celtic, with whom they drew.

That kind of form is good enough to win the premier division,

especially when it includes a total of 11 goals in their favour, but

McLeish is not talking about winning titles, rather about maintaining

momentum. Three victories in succession, the latest against Rangers by

2-1, is momentum by anybody's standards.

The inevitable irony is that Arnott, the sinner against Borussia, is

now the hero who has scored five goals in those four games. He hit two

against Rangers in a performance that earned him everybody's

man-of-the-match verdict and proved once again that he is one of the

most under-rated strikers in the country.

''He has been brilliant,'' said McLeish, ''although he was a bit under

the weather at Aberdeen last week. He was back to his best against

Rangers. His first goal was amazing, a top class score.''

It was, too, because it was the kind of one-touch move that can be

used in defence of the modern game's ferocious pace. Jamie Dollan was

first to get it going with a sweeping pass from the centre to Tommy

Coyne out on the left and it was the Irish internationalist's

intelligent appraisal of the situation which set up the goal. Coyne

could have collected the ball and made ground on the left, but instead

sent across the most accurate, fast, low pass towards Arnott at the far

side of the penalty area. He was able to get an outstretched foot to the

ball, which had evaded two Ibrox defenders en route, and send it into

the net.

It did not win the game, as it turned out, but it was a goal which

will be remembered for a long time by Motherwell fans.

McLeish prefers to look at the way his team played in the opening leg

in Germany as the standard which Motherwell have set themselves.

Certainly, their style and determinaion against Rangers equalled that

fine show in Dortmund, but with the added bonus that they took their

chances this time.

They were also assisted by the fact that Rangers were a man short for

all of the second half as well as the last nine minutes of the first

half. Craig Moore was shown the red card after he impeded Arnott as the

striker prepared to shoot.

Referee Jim O'Hare could not be criticised for that decision, but some

of his other judgments seemed well off target.

However, he was right to deal severely with histrionics like those of

Basile Boli, who does not do himself or the team much good by indulging

in extraordinary melodramatic behaviour when he feels there is a wrong

decision. When the referee gave a foul against Stuart McCall for a

tackle that was far less violent than many others he had ignored, Boli

raced towards Mr O'Hare waving arms and shouting protests like a

demented dervish. He was properly admonished by the ref and shown the

yellow card.

Boli's Gallic exaggeration would be acceptable enough if he was

turning in #2.7m performances, but, while he has to be given time to

find his bearings in the premier division, and he is getting there, he

has not proved that class yet.

Ironically, his partner in defence, Dave McPherson, wanted by Hearts

in the deal that may yet take Alan McLaren to Ibrox, was the best man in

a Rangers shirt. McPherson, playing in his most comfortable role at

centre half, had an outstanding game.

Time and again McPherson's interventions prevented Arnott and Coyne

causing even greater damage to Andy Goram's goal but, like everybody

else, he was posted missing when the second goal went in five minutes

after the interval. A short corner from the left by Billy Davies to Paul

Lambert drew the Ibrox defence out of position and when the cross came

over, Arnott found himself unmarked and able to head firmly past the

keeper.

Rangers manager Walter Smith found no fault with the spirit his side

showed when they were a man short and a two goals behind and was right

when he said that they might well have climbed back into the game. They

did get within a goal of the lead, when John Philliben unfortunately

steered the ball past his own keeper following a scintillating run by

Brian Laudrup, but there was not enough time left to snatch the

equaliser.

Motherwell are now within two points of the top of the table and are

entitled to think they have as good a chance as any of winning the

championship. They have lost only one league game so far, to Rangers at

Ibrox, and that is decent form in any league.