Stephen Robinson spoke about the trip to Rugby Park, the importance of the next three games and facing a side who are without a manager on Friday.
Here’s what he said to the broadcast media.
On the festive run-in
“It’s a huge, huge three games for us. Three games I think we can take points out of. We have to be at our best again.
“There were bits in the Rangers game that reminded me of our game against Hearts at home in the cup when we lost. We just got into little habits of not doing the things we have been doing. Forward thinking, putting balls into areas, into the box, forward runs. Playing with that energy and positivity.
“That might have been the level of team we were playing against. But I think it was more our mindset on the day. And we have to make sure we get back to being positive, trying to take the game to Kilmarnock and obviously Ross County and Hamilton,
“So three huge games that we are very much looking forward to that we can really leave our year on a high.”
On the difference to last year
“We’ve got a couple of doubts for Saturday. Christopher Long has not trained for the last 48 hours. Christy Manzinga won’t play for two or three weeks with a hamstring injury again.
“I think this time last year we had 10 to 13 injuries. All boys that were in and around the first team out of a squad like Motherwell, any squad, it takes its toll.
“So the good thing is we are in a better place injury wise. We are in a better position league wise, so it takes a little bit of pressure off you. The only pressure we’re really under is what we’re trying to achieve and trying to continue to take the football club forward.”
On Kilmarnock
“They’ve still got the squad that performed so well last year and they’re in a position in the league that’s still a very high position. So they are always going to be a very tough team to play against.
“They do play deeper. They do let you have a lot of the ball and they do it well. Organised and disciplined. Alex [Dyer] played a massive part in that under Steve.
“So I’m sure they’ll be exactly the same. So we have to have our forward player better than we had last Sunday. More aggressive in terms of going at people. Better decision making, more positivity, not plan with a wee bit of fear, which I felt we did on Sunday.
“We have to make sure we’re positive because they’re a tough, tough team to break down.”
On success at Motherwell
“I’m a very lucky position that I have a lot of backing from the board. The fans are incredibly good to me.
“I think most people at Motherwell know the parameters that we work under. What we try and achieve and how are we trying to achieve it. We will go up and down. We will have bad games and stages of the season, due to the personnel that we’ve got and the age of our team.
“It makes you appreciate what you’ve got. You’ve got people that are loyalty and the are very, very supportive. Everyone can be supportive when you’re doing well.
“You know, at the minute we’re all great, but it’s when you’re not doing well. And this time last year I had the full backing of the board and the vast majority of fans as well.
“Unfortunately in life, only the negative people are heard. On the internet sites and all that, you don’t really hear the positive stuff. For some reason, it’s only the negative stuff that’s heard.
“So we’ve got a lot of positive people around Motherwell. We’ve got a lot of supportive individuals, and as a group, as a whole, being very supportive to me. When you do hit that bad patch, you just hope people stick by you.
On looking ahead
“We’ve got a good group of young players. We’re trying to add players already for next season. We can look at people on pre-contracts now already and we’re looking at that.
“I’ve been down to England this week to watch other players that we feel can take the squad forward.
“So we’re just trying to keep building, trying to keep improving, trying to make the young boys better and educate them every day.”
