Get Third Safe First

29 March 2012 10:39
Motherwell looking over their shoulder before they look forward

Stevie Hammell wants Motherwell to secure third spot in the SPL before they even think of trying to catch Rangers in the race for the runners-up prize. The Steelmen can draw equal on points if they win on Saturday against the Ibrox side. However, Hammell is more concerned about increasing the gap to fourth so there is no chance of the teams catching Motherwell in the final games of the season. He said: "First and foremost, we have to concentrate on finishing third. That's still not finished yet. We need another two or three wins before we can look at anything else. We find ourselves in a position where, if we win on Saturday, we will be joint with Rangers on points and that's the goal. It's a great position to be in. I've been in teams fighting at the bottom of the league so we would much rather be where we are now. It is different. The expectation levels are higher. That's something that comes from winning and playing well and it's something we need to get used to." Rangers werte docked 10 points when they moved into administration and are still fighting to finish second. Hammell would love to see Motherwell take advantage of their predicament. he went on: "It's not a position anybody ever thought we would be in but that's where we find ourselves now. It's with Rangers being deducted points but we are there now and we want to challenge them as much as we can. They will be right up for it but we are looking forward to the game on Saturday. We are at home and our record against Rangers recently has been poor but it's something we want to change." Motherwell are aiming to end a 10-year wait for a win against Rangers but Hammell knows a repeat of their performance in last week's 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock will simply not be good enough. The defender said: "It's about as poor as we have played this season. It was a big chance for us to not only stay in touch with Rangers but also to keep that cushion with Dundee United and St Johnstone. It was a big game for us and we just didn't show up. It was maybe our poorest performance of the season. We've had two really good, hard training sessions since the game last weekend and you can sense it among the boys that they are keen to get back out there and put it right. We've not had many bad days this season but last Saturday was definitely one of them. This Saturday can't come quickly enough."

Source: FOOTYMAD