Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara is looking for his side to return to winning ways this afternoon and to do so in style.
The Tangerines secured a point on the road at St Mirren on Wednesday night but the manager was less than happy with the quality of play his team produced, saying, “there was not enough bravery on the ball”.
Now, he is looking for his players to show no fear against a struggling Motherwell side who were thumped 4-0 at Celtic Park in midweek.
When McNamara was asked if it was up to his players to show a big improvement after Wednesday night, he said: “Yes, absolutely. They can play better. Despite getting a draw, there were a lot of things we weren’t happy about like our passing and our defending at times.
“We need to be a lot better if we want to do well this season.
“We need to cut the silly wee mistakes out and use the ball better. There were too many passes going astray against St Mirren.
“I keep talking about fear but in fairness, St Mirren put us under a lot of pressure.
“They had high intensity at the start of the game and they have some good young players.
“Even if we had snatched a win at the end with Nadir Cifti’s header, I still wouldn’t have felt we deserved all three points or be happy with our play.
“I feel though we are a lot better than what we showed against St Mirren.
“The most important thing is that we do well tomorrow and get back to winning ways.”
Motherwell in recent seasons have been one of the most consistent sides in Scotland, challenging near the top of the league.
However, this term has been one to forget so far for the Fir Park outfit.
Long-serving manager Stuart McCall quit his post at the start of November following five straight defeats and the slump has continued under his successor, Ian Baraclough, with the Steelmen currently third bottom, just two points ahead of St Mirren in the relegation play-off spot.
That downturn is something which has surprised McNamara.
He said: “I think because of what they have achieved over the last few seasons it is always difficult.
“The expectations are there to try and better what you have done.
“It is difficult and I think you saw that with Stuart leaving.
“He maybe felt he had done as well as he could there with what he had to work with in terms of finances and everything else.
“The new guy came in there and got a good start with the two victories but obviously they have had a few poor results of late.
“However, they will be coming here looking to make things difficult for us.
“We will have to make sure we are patient, get the fans on our side and take the game to them.”
Callum Morris is back in contention for today’s game but John Souttar and Mario Bilate are still out injured.