THERE’S something to admire in Graham Alexander’s determination to send out a team so steeped in Lanarkshire it’s at risk of being closed down by the ghost of Margaret Thatcher. From back to front Motherwell are a side bristling with such quality they might as well have been mined in the steelworks of old.
Perhaps no player captures that intangible spirit of the town more so than Tony Watt who, in Saturday’s deserved draw with Hibernian, played with his chest out and his head up, earning his just rewards when he netted on the hour mark to go top of the league’s scoring charts.
So, what’s the limit for the Steelmen? Top six? Fifth? For Bevis Mugabi, the Ugandan defender, there’s no reason they can’t keep the purple patch going all the way to next season’s European qualifying rounds.
It would be just the second time in five years the 'Well have had to look out the passports but it would take a brave man to bet against them doing just that on Saturday's evidence alone.
“The way we are playing, I don’t see why not,” the 26-year-old, who played during Motherwell’s 2020/21 Europa League campaign, said. “I don’t see why we should limit ourselves in what we can do.
“Rather than looking behind us, I think we should look in front of us to see what we can do and actually fulfil our potential.”
If they are to continue their climb up the table, Motherwell will have to hope Watt stays in his happy place. His 11 goals so far are the most he has ever scored in a league season and with every passing week it looks harder and harder for Steve Clarke to find reasons to resist the urge to bring him back into the Scotland fold.
Watt, who hails from North Lanarkshire himself, has spoken of his joy at playing for the Steelmen and all that entails, and his teammates can see just why he’s in such fine form.
“He’s had a good season,” said Mugabi. “He’s a good outlet for us and wins a lot of free-kicks.
“He helps us with his all-round game and he is getting what he deserves for the work he puts in on the training pitch and obviously on match days. He’s getting his just rewards.
“I definitely feel like he is comfortable within the Motherwell set-up. He gives the boys a bit of a headache, to be fair, with the amount of talk he does in the changing room but he’s a good guy and a good lad. I’m very happy that he’s getting his goals.”
While the mood is high at Motherwell, it is less so at Saturday’s opponents, who remain in stuttering form and far adrift of the European places.
They haven’t beaten a team in the league not called St Johnstone since August, aren’t keeping cleansheets, and are finding clear cut opportunities hard to come by.
However, there were enough flashes during the draw - Kevin Nisbet’s fine finish among them - to offer wingback Chris Cadden hope the performances will soon turn into results.
With Livingston, Dundee, and St Mirren to come, they’ll simply have to if they are to turn their season around.
"I think the performances have been good,” said the former Motherwell man. “It's just that wee things aren't falling our way.
“If we had scored one of those chances on Saturday, everyone would have gone away happy
“We have to keep the performances up and keep the belief, which the gaffer is and hope that things will turn for us.
“We have great players. There's nothing I can pinpoint - you would need to ask someone else that.”
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