Nicky Law is reveling in the freedom afforded to him by Stuart McCall, as the 23-year old continues to garner rave reviews at the heart of an entertaining Motherwell side.
The former Rotherham midfielder has settled into the Motherwell side admirably as ‘Well have enjoyed an industrious and progressive start to their SPL campaign – and he admits that he is loving the style of football being implemented by his current gaffer and long-time admirer Stuart McCall.
“I knew the style of football the manager would like to play,” Law praised. “The manager has played on the floor and quick counter-attacking, more so at Motherwell because we have got better players here than we had at Bradford.
[pullquote]The staff at Fir Park, the fans and the players have been welcoming to me.[/pullquote]
“In pre-season we played like that and we looked to carry it on into the league, it’s something we have been able to do. People are starting to recognise Motherwell now as a good footballing and passing side and that’s something we want, but we also want good results on top of that. Our aim is to get into the top six and improve on last season.”
Law and McCall worked together at Bradford City during the current ‘Well boss’ tenure as manager at Valley Parade, and the Nottingham-born playmaker has already confessed that McCall played a big part in his decision to move up north.
He also cites the Steelmen boss as a major reason why he has settled in so well – along with the harmony in the dressing room.
“Within a week I felt like I had been here a couple of seasons,” he praised. “Because everyone was so easy to get on with. It’s predominately quite a young which is easier for myself, when people are around the same age it’s a bit easier to get on with them. The staff at Fir Park, the fans and the players have been welcoming to me and the same with Higgy as well.
“Obviously the manager knows about me and I know about the manager and that does help because sometimes you can go to a new club and the manager doesn’t know too much about you.”
Law admits that the SPL standard is a step up from what he has been used to in League Two with Rotherham, and he is keen to challenge himself further when Hearts – many people’s pick as third-force in Scotland – come to town on Sunday afternoon.
It has been a dramatic week at Tynecastle, with the arrival of Paulo Sergio in the dugout in Gorgie, replacing Jim Jefferies, but Law is expecting a positive reaction from the men in maroon – particularly having just landed a plum draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League.
He continued: “They had a good result in Europe last night and we have just found out about their draw in the cup, which is something they will be looking forward to.
“With a new manager coming in you’re trying your hardest to impress the new manager. That’s what they will be doing but we felt, particularly at home, we can give anybody a game at the best of our ability.
“They were tipped as the only team that could break into the top two between Celtic and Rangers. They are obviously still looking to do that so it’s a great test for us.”