Lasley: Victory can put Well back on track Motherwell captain Keith Lasley is determined to show that talk of a slump is overblown when Hibernian visit Fir Park. Just over a month ago, Motherwell were seconds away from moving four points clear at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League but lost a two-goal lead against Aberdeen and have now fallen to sixth. They also failed to hit their early-season heights against Rangers in a 2-0 Scottish Communities League Cup defeat. But Well's only two league defeats have come against in-form Celtic and in a 1-0 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle and Lasley believes they are not far away from winning displays. The midfielder said: "It's been a disappointing month if you look right back to the Aberdeen game which we should have closed out. "The two games against the Old Firm we never really performed to the standards we expect. "At Hearts last week I thought we were a little unfortunate not to take a point. "The Rangers game was the most disappointing one. But I don't think it's a case of being very poor every game. "We played well most of the game against Aberdeen and unfortunately never held on. "It's not as if we have been really struggling and getting thumped every week. "There is no talk in the dressing room of being miles away from where we want to be. "It's been shown this is a dog-eat-dog league and it's who is at it on the day that usually wins." Shaun Hutchinson is out of the clash with a hamstring injury, but fellow centre-back Adam Cummings returns from suspension. Steven Saunders remains on the sidelines as he continues his rehab following knee surgery. Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon hopes for a happier conclusion to Friday night football at Fir Park. Last December, in Fenlon's first game in charge, Hibs led 1-0 at Motherwell when an electrical fire forced the game to be abandoned. In the next five matches Hibs claimed a solitary point in a season where they fought against relegation. "Hopefully it finishes this time; the last time wasn't great," Fenlon said. "There's nothing we could do about it. It was out with anybody's control. "It probably summed up, a little bit, the luck we were getting at the club at the time. "We've made progress. We're happy with the progress we've made. "If we can go to Motherwell and win it will be a big plus for us because they are a very, very decent outfit." Former Motherwell defender Tim Clancy missed the trip to Dingwall with a groin problem but could return at the expense of Alan Maybury after training on Thursday. Fenlon added: "He (Clancy) is a good player, a good pro. It's been good to have him back, because we don't have big numbers, particularly defensively." Clancy could join Northern Ireland international Ryan McGivern in defence.
Source: PA
