Brown gives Well stars a break

Published: 15 Mar 2010 - 15:43:50

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With Well not playing until their March 27 trip to Dundee United, Brown has given some players a week off as a reward for Saturday's 3-1 victory over Hearts, which extended their unbeaten Scottish Premier League run to 12 games. While some are using the break to see their families, others will join up for a trip to the races. "They have played more games than anyone else and I felt if they did well at the weekend it would be only right to give them a few days off," Brown said. "I think they preferred that to a lottery win when I saw their reaction when I told them. "Jim O'Brien is organising a group of the lads going to Cheltenham. Good luck to them but I hope they come back with a need for a bonus. If they do too well, they might just be a bit laid back. "But I'm happy to see the squad staying together. They are also taking the opportunity to go home to their families for a few days and I hope that could be a recipe for good success in the final weeks of the season." Brown kept Rangers and Celtic apart in the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Monday, an outcome which boosts fourth-placed Motherwell's European prospects given that fifth spot would secure a Europa League place if there was an Old Firm final. "I hesitate to say that because we don't want to get in the back door," Brown said after making the draw at Hampden. "But I think it's quite legitimate to get in with fifth place if the final is contested by teams already in Europe. "We hope to even aspire to higher than fifth pace if we can keep our momentum going, but that remains to be seen." Meanwhile, Brown will use this week to check on the latest crop of youngsters emerging at Fir Park. "I'm going to be working with the Under-19 team and I'm looking forward to that because I've seen them play very well," he said. "I saw them get an excellent 4-0 win on Saturday. We've got to identify players to keep the conveyor belt of young players at Motherwell." Scottish Premier Without Old Firm. Click here to bet.  

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