Live Commentary

McCall prepared to ring in changes Stuart McCall has admitted he may be forced into a much-changed starting 11 for Motherwell's Clydesdale Bank Premier League encounter with St Mirren. Motherwell fell to a 2-0 first-leg defeat at home to La Liga side Levante in the Europa League play-offs and McCall admits the disappointment has been coupled with injuries to several first-team players. The Fir Park side are already without the services of hamstring injury victim Simon Ramsden and Steven Saunders, who was undergoing a knee operation, and his thin squad could be tested further on Sunday. "What is difficult is we have lost three or four players from the team that played Levante, we have given four debuts so far this season though and have been very pleased with how they've coped," said McCall. "It will be a young squad against St Mirren, but it'll be a team that will go out to do well. "When you don't play well you want to bounce back with a positive performance and that's what we will aim to do Sunday. "We have no issues with the timescales, it will be tougher when we are travelling back from Spain next week." Meanwhile, St Mirren striker Steven Thompson is relishing the chance to play alongside a strike partner this season. Thompson scored 16 goals last season, twice as many as second top goalscorers Nigel Hasselbaink and midfielder Paul McGowan. Hasselbaink played a wider role before moving to St Johnstone and Saints manager Danny Lennon brought in centre-forwards Lewis Guy and Sam Parkin to replace him. Thompson said: "It's good because this year we have been starting with two strikers, which is excellent for me to share the workload a bit. "The stronger the squad, the better. Most of the clubs I have been at have had a bare minimum of four strikers. "It's great for competition and also great for when you get suspensions and injuries throughout the season. "I really enjoyed the responsibility of being up there on my own and I think I thrived upon it. "I was really, really pleased with my total as far as goals were concerned, but I was pleased with my overall contribution. "But hopefully this year I can have as big a contribution and the team itself can go that one step more and get into the top six." St Mirren again have to adapt to life without defender Darren McGregor for the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Motherwell. McGregor damaged his second cruciate ligament injury last weekend and faces a successive campaign largely on the sidelines. Striker Guy returns after a two-game suspension.