Everyone associated with the club will be disappointed with the points haul. From five home and four away games we have two wins and a draw to our credit. The inconsistency in our level of performance has ranged from the truly awful ( 0-2 at Love St) to the free scoring (5-0 against
The management team's pre-season hopes of improving on recent seasons' achievements and securing another top six finish now sound like pie in the sky and most fans will be happy if we can finish the year anywhere but bottom of the heap.
At the recent Supporters' Trust question and answer session the manager was asked how he coped with the uncertainty of players' form. How was he able to plan without knowing which Motherwell side would take to the field? Would they be lions or lambs? His frank answer was that a high level of consistency comes only from players of the highest quality. Players who, even on an ‘off day', are capable of holding their own and contributing to the team.
Our problem is that inconsistency is the price we pay for having a young team. Despite a desire to give of their best, at times they are not on top form. The result is that they seem a yard short of pace, passes go astray and the game becomes difficult. On the other hand, if they are at the top of their game everything seems easy. Tackles are won, passes find their target, confidence is high and the team is heaped with praise. Malpas believes that in both cases the players give the same effort and give of their best.
If they can find the same form on Saturday as they had on the last outing at