Connor Ripley delighted to be working with Mark McGhee at Motherwell
Connor Ripley will happily allow Motherwell manager Mark McGhee to "whip him into shape" as he prepares to build on his initial loan spell at Fir Park.
Ripley has agreed to extend his stay from Middlesbrough until the end of the season and believes he can make more progress after impressing during Motherwell's run of three consecutive wins ahead of Saturday's visit of Hamilton.
McGhee said after Wednesday night's victory over St Johnstone that he had permission from Boro to whip the goalkeeper into shape and Ripley is pleased he has someone driving him forward.
"The manager is brilliant, he has helped this club a lot," the 22-year-old said.
"I've heard he has been trying to whip me into shape and I don't mind. If he wants me to get whipped into shape I will do it myself.
"I can't thank the manager enough, he is doing a lot for me, hopefully keeping me here and I will just go on from there.
"I feel good, I feel happy here. I've made good mates and the gaffer seems to like me so I can't really complain.
"Who doesn't want to play at Celtic Park and beat them? When we were 1-0 down as well. That was the best moment in my career, it was up there with when I went away with England for the first time."
Motherwell moved from 10th to seventh in the Ladbrokes Premiership in midweek and will be looking to build on their unbeaten December when they host their Lanarkshire rivals.
"I said before that we needed that snowball effect and it's happened," Ripley said. "We needed momentum and we needed wins. It's great for the team."
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee expects to have an unchanged squad, with left-back Joe Chalmers the only absentee as he recovers from a muscle tear in his foot.
Hamilton defender Ziggy Gordon is desperate for Saturday's Lanarkshire derby to arrive despite Accies going into it on the back of another defeat.
The 22-year-old scored his second goal of the season against Inverness on Wednesday to draw the home side level at 2-2 but like the rest of the home players he was shattered when Liam Polworth scored with the last kick of a remarkable encounter played in dreadful conditions to give the visitors a 4-3 win.
It was Hamilton's fourth successive defeat to leave them with one win in 11 matches and in 10th place in the Premiership, two points above Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot but Gordon remains positive.
"Everyone wants to play in a derby and I can't wait for Saturday," he told Press Association Sport.
"I am so motivated.
"Hopefully I can pop up with another goal, that would be nice.
"But we need to get out of the mind frame of hoping, we just need to go and win.
"All the boys will be raring to go and it is important that we get the fundamentals right.
"No one is going to give you a win, no one is going to let you beat them.
"So we need to go there in the right mindset and do the right things."
Defender Michael Devlin (ankle) and midfielder Darren Lyon (knee) are making progress after long-term injuries but are not yet ready to return.
Source: PAR
