WITH only four goals registered in their opening six Premiership games, Motherwell are not so much blazing a trail towards the top six as as creeping up on them. But Ian Baraclough has more strikers than he has goals, and so he has reason to believe that one will bring the other.
Having already tied up Louis Moult, Wes Fletcher, David Clarkson and Scott McDonald this summer, Motherwell surprisingly added another forward ahead of their 1-0 win over Kilmarnock with the recruitment of former Derby and Doncaster player Theo Robinson.
Moult took his tally to three goals in three games with the 13th-minute penalty that earned three points in an uninspiring Fir Park clash. With Fletcher set to return from an ankle injury after the international break and Craig Moore due to return from a loan spell with Ayr in January, Baraclough looks to have a challenge keeping his front men happy, not least because Moult was playing up front alone with McDonald in midfield.
But he said: "It's a challenge to them. It's a challenge to them to keep creating, keep scoring, keep working hard, because nobody is guaranteed a start. Five different strikers, all have different qualities, and it doesn't half give you a bit of a difference on the bench if you need to bring people in."
Robinson came on for the final quarter and looked pacey but rusty on the ball and hit an over-ambitious shot well over. Baraclough said: "You saw the qualities of Theo, he is maybe different to the others. He has not had a full pre-season, similar to Scott McDonald when he came in. This 14-day period will give us the chance to work on him."
Motherwell started well and Moult slotted the penalty after getting in front of Mark O'Hara's clearance to force a soft award.
Their brightest player was 20-year-old winger Dom Thomas, who drew a good early save from Jamie MacDonald and was a consistent threat on the left on his first start of the season. "He took on board whet we are trying to get out of him," Baraclough said. "He earned his place by putting in performances in the under-20s, his attitude in training. I just felt it was the right time.
"I said: 'Go and enjoy yourself, get at the full-back, create havoc, try and get an end product as well'. Whether it was getting a cross in, a shot, or winning a corner or throw-in, he did. Right from the first minute.
"That gave him confidence the first time he had a go at the full-back, knew he could get the better of him, and gave him a tough time."
The close attention Thomas got from the Kilmarnock defence is only a back-handed compliment to the teenager who never stopped looking for the ball. Several times men were double up in an attempt to stop him as he tried to wriggle free. It is something he has become accustomed to.
Thomas said: “Sometimes you start to get a wee kick and that, but it’s part of the game. You just need to deal with these things and create your own space. You’ve got to take it as a compliment.”
Kilmarnock were lacking in the final third before the break but the half-time introduction of Tope Obadeyi on his return to league action from injury sparked more life into them, although the winger failed to trouble Connor Ripley from three half-chances.
But manager Gary Locke drew encouragement from the display that they can move off the bottom of the table.
"It's difficult," Locke said. "If you talk to any player when they are a wee bit low in confidence, they don't try things they normally would. But the only way they are going to get confidence back is just by working hard and trying to get through the difficult spell we have had.
"But I thought you could see, certainly in the second half, that there is a bit of confidence coming back. I'm hoping this break will give us the chance to get players back and I'm well aware we need to strengthen as well, so hopefully we can get a fresh face in. If we can do that, I'm still positive that we can have a good season because we have the players to do so."
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