ST MIRREN midfielder Jamie McGrath admits that he and his team-mates will be stepping into the unknown somewhat when they take to the pitch this afternoon to face Graham Alexander’s new-look Motherwell.

The Steelmen were awarded a 3-0 win after a Covid-19 outbreak meant the Buddies were unable to field a team during the first meeting between the two sides this season, but that decision has since been appealed and the points have been temporarily stripped from the Fir Park club.

McGrath downplayed the notion that today’s match is a six-pointer as a result of the pending decision – insisting that Jim Goodwin’s men are fully focused on matters on the park, rather than the game's governance off it.

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“It was a bit of a blow when we originally found out about [the original decision to award a 3-0 walkover to Motherwell] but we just need to concentrate on getting as many points on the board as we can,” he said. “Whatever happens with the appeal, we’ll just continue to train and play.

“It’s three points that are up for grabs, not six and who knows how our appeal will go? If we get the original decision overturned we’ll have a few games in hand.

“It’s always a tricky one [coming up against a team with a new manager]. Normally, there’s a gaffer there and you more or less know how they’ll play but we’ll just look after our own game and maybe just touch on what they did last weekend.

“Obviously, [their situation] is up in the air at the moment so we’ll need to see what happens and maybe have to adapt but still try to do what we do and cause them problems.”