Countdown to the split

First up is Dundee United. They visit Fir Park next Saturday for the third meeting of the campaign. The memory the 4-0 thrashing we gave them Tannadice will be a spur to the Tangerines but they are not in the best of spirits in recent games. Their 1-0 win over Falkirk in the last outing was the first victory Levein's men had earned in seven games. We must have a good chance of a win.

Next is the first of two away trips before the split. We travel to Rugby Park for the last game in March. $etanta have deemed that there will be a 1230 kick off. This might raise some concern in the Motherwell camp as we have developed a bad habit in from of live TV cameras. We seem unable to win! Killie have won both meetings this season but like United their current form is poor, In the dozen games since New Year they have recorded only one win, the cup replay over their Ayrshire neighbours. Another win must be possible.

Aberdeen visit on 4 April. We have yet to take a point from them this campaign but if we look to the statistics we see that they have not won any of their last six. They lie in fifth place, four points ahead of us and we have to regard them as a target. Can we break our duck and take a point from this meeting?

Motherwell's last away game before the third cycle is complete is at Ibrox. Although we will travel in hope, the expectation has to be that we will lose. It seems not to matter how poor an eleven Rangers field, successes against them are few and far between.

St Mirren come to Fir Park in mid April and the composition of the top six will be known as the games end. We can only hope that the contest is still alive when we play the Saints. The team will be keen to balance the defeat which saw us knocked out of the Cup and it may be that a win ensures a top six finish.

There is one other major factor which will affect our chances of finishing in the top half, Hibs. Their finishing run is Hearts (h), Aberdeen (h), Dundee United (a), St Mirren (a) and finally Rangers (h). It will be a close race.