Source: FOOTYMAD
Working In The Dark
Craig Brown's dossier on Odense is pretty thin Stephen Craigan admits even Motherwell manager Craig Brown's renowned meticulous preparations can only tell the players so much about their opponents ahead of their latest Europa League game. Motherwell travel to take on Odense in Denmark on Thursday in the first leg of the final qualifying round before the group stages. Former Scotland manager Brown's tactical acumen steered Motherwell past Icelandic league leaders Breidablik and Norwegian cup holders Aalesund with the loss of just one goal, which came courtesy of a penalty. Motherwell seem far better equipped in tactical terms these days for difficult European encounters than they were with Mark McGhee in Nancy two years ago and when Jim Gannon sent out an ambitious line-up which lost 3-0 at Steaua Bucharest last season. However, Craigan said: "We'll not really know until the game starts. You can set up all you want but we're not too sure how they are going to play. We had them watched last week and they changed their formation a couple of times throughout the play. Are we in better shape? I don't know, I'll tell you 10 minutes into the game. The first 10 or 15 minutes will determine how we're going to play and what the opposition is like. You can watch as many DVDs as you like, but until you see them in the flesh you can't judge how difficult it's going to be. I think we're underdogs again, I think we were underdogs in the last round. Four-one flattered us against Aalesund but I think we need a similar performance. I hope it's not going to be a rearguard action, it's important to try and get a goal away from home. Sometimes it's easier said than done." Motherwell produced an attacking display in their first game of the domestic season against Hibs on Sunday but paid the price for some missed chances and dubious decisions before the visitors secured a 3-2 win. Craigan went on: "I'm guessing they will have a go at us. They will have watched our game on Sunday and think if they make it an attacking game they will have a chance of getting goals against us." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
