| 7 | Motherwell | 35 | 13 | 6 | 16 | -17 | 45 |
| 8 | Hearts | 35 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 43 |
| 9 | Kilmarnock | 35 | 11 | 8 | 16 | -16 | 41 |
| 10 | Dundee | 35 | 10 | 7 | 18 | -21 | 37 |
| 11 | Ross County | 35 | 9 | 8 | 18 | -24 | 35 |
| 12 | St Johnstone | 35 | 8 | 5 | 22 | -28 | 29 |
Irish defender Tim Clancy is the second ‘Well player to test their ability in the MFC TV 10-yard Bucket Challenge.
An unlucky Jamie Murphy set the early pace, shooting a somewhat disappointing 101, but his teammates have already spoken of their confidence in bettering that total.
Would the former Killie man be able to race into the lead in the race to win the fourball at one of Scotland’s top golf courses?
-WATCH TIM CHIP IN AT DALZIEL PARK-
‘Well boss Stuart McCall has urged his players to be positive at Ibrox and insists he will take the squad along the M74 with no fear.
Motherwell haven’t won in Govan for almost fifteen years and suffered a 6-0 thrashing when the teams last met in Glasgow.
However, McCall is clear in his focus on his players and wants the Motherwell side to express themselves at the home of the SPL Champions.
“We’ve got to go there with no fear,” he said. “We had the disappointment of losing heavily there last time which was probably the ‘lowlight’ of the whole campaign.”
“But, we’ve got go there positive. Yea, we didn’t perform at Tynecastle but the majority of away performances have been excellent and we have to have the belief that we can go there and cause them problems.”
-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVELY ON MFC TV-
Referee for Monday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Rangers at Ibrox will be Euan Norris.
It will be Euan’s third match in charge of the ‘Well this season after previously overseeing the 4-2 away success against Dunfermline at East End Park in late August and the 1-0 at Easter Road in October.
And Fir Park fans will be relatively familiar with the 33-year old who handled two games last term too.
The first, a 0-0 draw with Inverness was instantly forgettable. However, the other was one that will live long in the memory. Motherwell beat Championship-chasing Celtic 2-0 at Fir Park; former striker John Sutton netting a brace.
The season previous to last, Euan also handed two matches. He was the man in the middle when Motherwell edged out Falkirk 1-0 at Fir Park. Lukas Jutkiewicz got the only goal of the game, heading home a corner from the left after 18 minutes.
His other game that campaign was also at Fir Park; a stormy affair between Motherwell and Hibs.
The Steelmen won the game 1-0 thanks to a Jamie Murphy goal eight minutes from time but the game was marred by a red card for Liam Miller for a challenge on Jim O’Brien midway through the first forty-five.
Thankfully, FIFA referee Norris usually likes to keep his cards in his pocket with only seventeen cautions handed out in those games, with eight flashed at a ‘Well players.
Euan will be ably assisted by Alasdair Ross and John Gilmour with John McKendrick on fourth official duties.
Some shots as the third annual Walk10for10, remembering the late Phil O’Donnell and raising money for charity, left from Fir Park this morning.
[svgallery name=”walk10for10dec2011″]
Tickets for the 2nd January game against Rangers at Ibrox are still currently on sale from the Fir Park Ticket Office.
Tickets are priced at:
| ADULTS: | £25 |
| CONCESSIONS: | £13 |
Fir Park Ticket Office New Year Opening Hours:
Tickets will be on sale from the Rangers Ticket Centre at Ibrox Stadium on the day of the match (Monday 2nd January) from 10am – kick-off.
Motherwell’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Dunfermline has been postponed due to high winds causing damage to Fir Park Stadium.
The match will now take place on Tuesday 24th January 2012 – Kick-off 7.45pm.
Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said, “We were obviously desperate to get the game on but there has been significant structural damage to the ground.
“That could have posed a risk to supporters so with that in mind, we have agreed with Dunfermline to postpone the fixture and replay it at the earliest opportunity.”
‘Well boss Stuart McCall has called on his side to bounce back against Dunfermline following defeat at Tynecastle on Saturday.
Following previous defeats, the Steelmen have managed to bounce back with a positive result and the former Scotland International will be looking for a repeat tomorrow night.
However, the Pars have already demonstrated an ability to win on the road, picking up three points at Tannadice, McDiarmid Park and Easter Road.
And it’s that record the ‘Well boss is wary of going into the match.
“People will look on the game, see Dunfermline in not the best of form and at the bottom of the table, but we need only refer to the stat that they have won as many away games as we have at Fir Park,” McCall said.
“We certainly won’t be underestimating them; like us, they’ll be looking to bounce back from their home defeat on Saturday, and we will need to be wary of that.
“Our players know that if we are not at our very best, we will struggle to beat any side in the SPL. Dunfermline will come here looking to win and we have got to make sure we are at it from the first minute.”
-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVELY ON MFC TV-
Jamie Murphy insists nothing has changed despite going into tomorrow night’s game with Dunfermline on the back of a rare defeat.
Prior to Saturday, the Steelmen had only lost one match in eleven, at home to Celtic in early November, but a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle halted that form.
The side have managed to bounce back from the last two league defeats with a win and, with preparation the same; the former Scotland U21 hitman is desperate to make that a hat-trick.
“Preparation is the same; we’ve trained well yesterday and today and we’ve talked about things at the meeting,” he said.”We’re all looking forward to the match.”
“Obviously we were very disappointed at how things went on Saturday but tomorrow night, against Dunfermline, we are desperate to get back to winning ways.”
-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-
All the goals from Tynecastle as first-half strikes from Ian Black and Stephen Elliott give Hearts a 2-0 victory of Stuart McCall’s Steelmen.
-CLICK HERE TO WATCH BOTH GOALS-
Stuart McCall was left disappointed after Motherwell’s first away defeat in over three months.
Hearts opened the scoring thanks to a long-range strike by Ian Black before Stephen Elliot doubled their lead after great wide play by David Templeton.
Motherwell huffed and puffed but never really got going in what will go down as one of the poorer performances this season.
Former Scotland International McCall was understandable frustrated, but praised his side for effort and endeavour, even if the wake of defeat.
“It was a disappointing afternoon but we’ve got no divine right to go anywhere and win,” he said.
“I said before the game, regardless of what is going on at Hearts behind the scenes, the team they put out on the park today contains a lot of talented individuals.
“Unfortunately for us, the likes of Taouil and Templeton were outstanding and we couldn’t cope. We defended poorly for both goals, and we didn’t create enough going forward. The one thing I would say is that the lads didn’t stop giving effort, commitment and desire. It just wasn’t to be and we were beaten by the better side on the day.”
-WATCH THE INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVELY ON MFC TV-
