Lobey_Dosser

Enjoyed the positivity of Robinson's press conference, somewhat refreshing view in comparison to Butcher, McCall and McGhee. May end up heading along to this. Sounds like Pearson has been carrying an injury since rejoining us.

I think he's been called up once under Strachan's reign and was one of a few not to get a chance off the bench in a friendly. Strachan is gradually moving away from his overly loyal approach however so he might get a chance in the future. Having said that, he has tough competition with Snodgrass, Forrest, Anya, Ritchie, Burke, Phillips, and Naismith vying for his position.

Last chance to get a result against a top 5 team this season. Can't see it, 4-0 Rangers.

McMillan is not playing because he let his standards drop, Craigan has said as much.

Should we stay in the top flight, the NI connection might see us interested in Mannus.

Looking at all those out of contract, Skippy is the only one I'd be offering a deal but the likelihood is he'll be away. Of those contracted beyond the summer, I think we'll be looking to cut our ties with Hammell and Blyth if possible. In terms of young players stepping up, MacLean, Campbell at Hastie look to be carrying the greatest promise. Mackin was mentioned above, he'll be the out the door. So plenty of scope for a rebuild. Ideally we'd be looking at pre-contracts just now but that's unlikely given our precarious position and we may well lose ground on some of our competitors. Huge job for the manager regardless of what league we are in.

Optimistically looking for 5 points: Killie 36 Patrick 35 Dundee 32 Ross County 32 Motherwell 32 ICT 29 Accies 28

This season, every international break has been viewed as an opportunity to get players fit but it rarely works out positively. McDonald and Hammell seem to be permanently dealing with constant niggles that are hampering their training regimes. Even the likes of Moult, who had his operation in August, doesn't look to be entirely free of injury. McManus and Tait are two pivotal losses that have made the task of staying in this league a whole lot tougher. It's unlikely we'll see McManus for a while, if at all this season according to BBC. Robinson's suggestion about rushing Tait back, who clearly shouldn't have played at Rugby Park, underlines the severity of our predicament.

There's no excuse but the lack of sharpness will stem from not training all week.

Due to his experience in the managerial interview process.

WS sent an email tonight shining some light on recruitment process. Five invited for interview, three interviewed. Panel consisted of Burrows, Dickie, Whitefield and the departed Derek Weir. No sign of the Chairman?

Not sure if there is a chance of Tait returning before end of season but according to BBC radio, McManus is now out for 12 weeks rather than 6.

Craigan previously suggested that McMillan has lost his head a bit so I can't see him being rewarded with a first team chance until that's been addressed.

McMillan has had a rough few weeks in u20s. Can't see him starting despite the lack of options.

Yeah, early comments from Robinson have been interesting and reflect the imbalance of the squad that we've all discussed.

I think we'll have little option but to play Cadden at rwb.

McManus was talking about Hughes on radio last night as the other name in frame. Granted, he was going on the reported headlines but I reckon the experienced players would have known who the club were talking to. The Coyle story makes perfect sense to me and ties in with a few snippets I heard at the outset. I'm also led to believe the club's initial offer to Robinson was until the end of the season.

Maybe Robinson rejected a deal to the end of the season... A 14 month contract smacks of compromise.

That would my hunch; not necessarily Simo mind you.

Interesting and not surprising as he spouted absolute nonsense in the Hearts post match. However you wonder how much support he had, particularly in the aftermath of the Skippy/Ibrox saga. He was in need of a supportive Chairman at that point. Do you know if the return of Robinson was instigated by McGhee or the club?

Agree with much of this. A deal for fan ownership was only to be approved ahead of schedule if we had assurances about a sustainable future at our current level. Unfortunately, we look to be downscaling already despite getting favourable terms with debt repayments and much of the support appears to be accepting the downturn in expectations.

Burrows told Motherwell Times that Hughes wasn't one of the 5 while Simo came close.

Skippy, Jules and Hammell not trained so far this week.

For a manager who had Oldham at the bottom of the league to have been the outstanding candidate, the competition must have been dire. Having said that, Robinson is a likeable guy and highly rated coach. To have a chance of success, it's important to have the right staff around him. He'll likely need a more experienced assistant than Faddy and given that he signed Josh Law for Oldham and recommended Dean Brill to McGhee, our head of recruitment is going to have his work cut out. I suspect I'd have been more supportive of the appointment if Robinson got the job in the days following McGhee's departure. However, the incompetence of the club is not his fault and I have no doubt he will be 100% dedicated to doing his best for Motherwell, unlike his predecessor. Good luck to him. Vital few months ahead for Motherwell, the Board and Burrows - they can't afford another mistake.

Robinson 1/10.