Motherwell
FC News
| August
2001 |
 |
| |
| Friday,
August 3
|
|
|
Billy Davies has defended Mark Brown after the young 'keeper conceded five
goals on his debut against Dunfermline. He said:
"I pulled Mark Brown aside after Saturday's game
and patted him on the back and told him 'well done'. I thought he
played very well and he was not at fault for any of the goals we
conceded. This guy has a tremendous future in football and a
fantastic career ahead of him. He has to keep working away at his
game but he'll have the chance to put that right against Dundee
United."
As always, the football pundits are tipping Motherwell
for relegation, but at yesterday's press conference BD responded by
saying:
"You have to be thick-skinned. There is
always criticism and experts have opinions to express. I am not
concerned at this stage of the season but I obviously will be if
Motherwell go five or six games in a row and concede the same amount of
goals. We played well up to half-time against Dunfermline and if the
game had ended then, people would have been writing that Motherwell would
be a top-six team. We lost some slack goals in the second half and
poor defending will cost us games. It happened last season and we
will have to try to learn from our mistakes. The result was
disappointing but we are looking forward, not back.
"The tempo of every SPL match is going to be
fast this season so we have to make sure we are physically and mentally
right for them. We certainly possess the talent in the dressing room
but we have to give it our best shot every week and not play in fits and
starts. We are trying to work on improving our game and rectifying
the mistakes we will make during the course of the season.
"The team was brought in on Sunday but this was
not as a punishment. I told the players beforehand that we would be doing
training sessions on a Sunday this season more often than not. Others do
it and I think it is beneficial to their fitness. It will certainly help
many and Neil Tarrant in particular needs some more work. I think it may
be a bit early for him to start on Saturday against Dundee United, but we
will see."
BD revealed that tomorrow's game has come too soon for
Scott Leitch, but the 'Well captain will hopefully be back to face
Kilmarnock the following week.
|
Andy Dow was next up at the press conference, and he said:
"The first half against Dunfermline was very positive,
but we gave away silly goals and let ourselves down in the second half. We did
take some positive things out of the game and we will hopefully develop them. We
didn't defend well, but that is not just the back four and the goalie, that is
the team. You have to defend as a team as you have to attack as a team. So this
week we have been working on defending the box and stopping crosses getting into
the box.
"Some have written us off already as I was at Aberdeen last year, but
football can and does change with a bang and a good result on Saturday gets us
right back in there."
When asked why he signed for Motherwell, he replied:
"I was tempted when the manager promised he was going to
bring in a lot of new talent and he was as good as his word on that. It was a
fresh challenge and I believe the manager has brought together a good blend of
youth and experience. It has got the makings of a good side and if the fans can
get behind us for a bit it would be very helpful."
When asked about the prospect of a relegation battle, he quickly
replied
"It is only one game so far and there are thirty odd to
go, so a relegation fight isn't the first thing on my mind at the moment. I feel
we can live with anyone on our day, we will respect each team but fear nobody.
Even though Rangers and Celtic are so far ahead because of the finances they
have at their disposal, on the day we can give them a game too. Motherwell have
a very good recent history against the Old Firm."
Where will we finish in the league this season? Cast your
vote in our new Monthly Poll!
Interested in receiving the latest news on the club direct to
your mobile phone? Then click here for details
of our new SMS service!
Win
a year's free subscription to our SMS service!
July 2001 News Index
Home