Source: FOOTYMAD
Decisions, Decision For McCall And McInnes
Which permutation of their respective squads should be charged with getting them to the final? Stuart McCall has some difficult decisions to make ahead of today's Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone. It looks like he will have a full squad to choose from for the early kick-off as Gavin Gunning has recovered from a shoulder injury while Francis Jeffers should shake off a hamstring problem. Steve Jennings has served his suspension while the likes of Keith Lasley and John Sutton are expected to come back into the starting line-up after being rested for the draw at Hearts. McCall admits he faces one of the most difficult team selections of his managerial career. In their previous four games, Motherwell have beaten Dundee United twice and Aberdeen, while also securing a draw against Hearts with an under-strength team. With so many permutations available, McCall has a dilemma or two to resolve. He said: "There are a lot of decisions to make, not only in the starting 11 but even the 16 and we wouldn't have thought that even a few weeks ago. I've got seven fit defenders who have all performed well in the last month. There are going to be a couple disappointed, and higher up the park too. I said to the coaching staff coming back from Tynecastle on Saturday, 'we have a lot of decisions to make'. And they all turned round and said, 'no you have a lot of decisions to make'. But it's a good problem to have." Whoever makes it into the strips today will be urged to hit their peak against a stubborn St Johnstone outfit. McCall has bemoaned the team's consistency for much of his short spell at Fir Park but he has had to contend with various disruptions to his team selection through injury and suspension, until now. And an unbeaten four-game run sends Motherwell to Hampden with added confidence. The former Scotland midfielder said: "We have a lot of players playing at the top of their game and we need to take that into Saturday. Ultimately it boils down to 90 minutes. I don't think there are favourites between us and St Johnstone. People might say they are not scoring lots of goals but they are certainly not conceding many. They have a terrific defensive record. So it can go either way, I just want our lads to perform at their highest level. I'm confident if we do that we can be a match for anyone. In the last three or four weeks the lads have come to the fore and there have been a lot of big performances. But it doesn't surprise me with the quality we have in the squad, it's just been the strength in depth. They have certainly produced in the bigger games, Celtic at home, Dundee United away, Aberdeen away. We have talked about consistency and in the bigger games they have done that. The bottom line is it doesn't matter what has passed - they have got to go out and play to their max." St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes has been worrying about four players ahead of today's game: Jody Morris (back), Kevin Moon (calf), Chris Millar (groin) and Steven Anderson (knee). He does have Peter Enckelman ready to return in goal after recovering from a knee problem while Peter MacDonald is suspended. St Johnstone defender Alan Maybury is looking forward to the Scottish Cup semi-final experience against Motherwell at Hampden all the more after recently experiencing the less glamorous side of English football. The Irishman, 32, played at Hearts and Aberdeen either side of a spell at Leicester City and returned to Scotland last summer after his time at Colchester United came to an unhappy ending. Maybury, is looking forward to helping the Perth club to their first Scottish Cup final, knowing that a footballer's fortunes can be changed dramatically. He said: "I had really enjoyed it at Colchester. Paul Lambert was the manager at the time and I signed a new three-year deal but he left not long after that and Aidy Boothroyd came in and made it clear straight away that I wasn't part of things. I'm not sure what it was based on but there were a few of us told that we wouldn't play. That was disappointing but you get on with it. I played in the reserves and worked hard and at the end you get back what you put in. For the main part, the standards and the facilities are good but there are a lot of plusses up here - the lack of travelling and time to spend with the family and the chance to play in these sort of games.''
