Motherwell V Hibs 21/03/2026

[Kmcalpin]

A crunch game in the tussle for 4th place and an automatic Euro place. 4th place is ours to lose but have the wheels come off? 

Stephen Welsh will be back and thats good news for a faltering defence. However Longelo will be sidelined. With no natural cover I'd go for SODS at left back and Jordan McGhee at right back.  

[grizzlyg]

Massive game and can't afford to lose it.  I have lost my mojo and fear we are going to struggle rest of season.   Maswanhise and Watt need to ignore the hype about them and get back to way they were playing 

[Kmcalpin]

It will certainly be a huge test of character. In my book  there's a questionmark over our team in big games. 

[joewarkfanclub]

44 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

It will certainly be a huge test of character. In my book  there's a questionmark over our team in big games. 

I dont think thats fair.

The only big game I dont think we turned up in was the League Cup semi-final, and even that game was down to "moments".

Performance wise, we have been excellent against Hearts twice, Celtic three times and Rangers three times.

Results wise you could make an argument for it, but given all 3 teams have significantly bigger budgets than us and are above us in the league, they might just be better/luckier than us.

The fact that we have been able to go toe to toe with them is a significant improvement on mindset and performance levels from years gone past.

Of course, if we want to develop and get better, Jens will have to find a way to bridge the gap and turn those performances into results.

 

[joewarkfanclub]

It will be a big test for us next week however.

Hibs have some very good players and we will be without Longelo and possibly Fadinger.

At least Welsh is back, but with Koutroumbis still out and RCC injured, the inability to sign LB cover in the window might come back to bite us.

Gonna be very limited for options there.

[Kmcalpin]

16 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Results wise you could make an argument for it, but given all 3 teams have significantly bigger budgets than us and are above us in the league, they might just be better/luckier than us.

I would also include the Aberdeen cup game and the recent loss at Dens Park in my assessment. However, both of those clubs also have bigger budgets than us. 

[bobbybingo]

8 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

I would also include the Aberdeen cup game and the recent loss at Dens Park in my assessment. However, both of those clubs also have bigger budgets than us. 

Not sure why Dundee would be considered a big game in comparison to any of the games we won.

[grizzlyg]

43 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

It will be a big test for us next week however.

Hibs have some very good players and we will be without Longelo and possibly Fadinger.

At least Welsh is back, but with Koutroumbis still out and RCC injured, the inability to sign LB cover in the window might come back to bite us.

Gonna be very limited for options there.

Put SOD left back and mcghee right back

[joewarkfanclub]

2 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I would also include the Aberdeen cup game and the recent loss at Dens Park in my assessment. However, both of those clubs also have bigger budgets than us. 

I wouldnt include the Aberdeen Cup game.

Nothing wrong with our mentality in that game. Even after the first freak red card, we regained our composure and control over the game.

At 10 v 10 we were the better team and looked like we had every chance to get back in it.

Our second red card kills it, and Im not having that as a red card ever.

Killie had a player brought down on the edge of the box tonight goalside and absolutely getting a shot away. Yellow card.

The standard of officiating in this country is horrendous.

[grizzlyg]

Start Thor next week for Said.  Said went off boil recently. 

[texanwellfan]

I think JBA and the players are hurting right now and that they are going to come out next week and remind everyone why we got so many plaudits this season. 

[MJC]

3-3 draw

[thewelllfan]

This is a must win for me now. We've been brilliant at home this season and put ourselves in a good place to get into Europe, a win here makes it a 9 point gap with 7 to play and opens up a nice cushion going into a very difficult last 7 games. I think we're going to have to get to 63 points to secure us 4th and that means realistically we're looking at winning our home games v Hibs and Falkirk and then collecting 4 points from Hearts (H&A), Celtic (H), Rangers (A), Falkirk (A), Hibs (A).

[Ya Bezzer!]

12 hours ago, bobbybingo said:

Not sure why Dundee would be considered a big game in comparison to any of the games we won.

Cos it was our game in hand which if we'd won would put us right in the mix for a title challenge, the media had actually started taking us seriously, and we instantly lost to a Dundee team, that while improving, hadn't won in their last 3 home matches, including Livingston.

 

[mio]

10 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Cos it was our game in hand which if we'd won would put us right in the mix for a title challenge, the media had actually started taking us seriously, and we instantly lost to a Dundee team, that while improving, hadn't won in their last 3 home matches, including Livingston.

 

I’m still annoyed by the Dundee game, much more so than that yesterday. If we’d have played with the same attitude against Dundee as we did yesterday we’d be sitting on 56 points and miles clear of Hibs. 

[bobbybingo]

10 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Cos it was our game in hand which if we'd won would put us right in the mix for a title challenge, the media had actually started taking us seriously, and we instantly lost to a Dundee team, that while improving, hadn't won in their last 3 home matches, including Livingston.

 

Kmcalpin has repeatedly said we were never in the mix for a title challenge, so that can't be his reasoning. Singling out defeats as proof we lack big game mentalty while ignoring the home wins against Celtic and Hibs, the draws against Rangers, or any other 3 points that have helped put us where we are now, feels harsh.

The title's still up in the air and only St Mirren have won silverware (while staring at a play-off), so we're pretty much all in the same boat when it comes to questioning mentality - which Hearts, Hibs and Falkirk fans are probably doing this morning.

[Kmcalpin]

1 hour ago, thewelllfan said:

This is a must win for me now. We've been brilliant at home this season and put ourselves in a good place to get into Europe, a win here makes it a 9 point gap with 7 to play and opens up a nice cushion going into a very difficult last 7 games. I think we're going to have to get to 63 points to secure us 4th and that means realistically we're looking at winning our home games v Hibs and Falkirk and then collecting 4 points from Hearts (H&A), Celtic (H), Rangers (A), Falkirk (A), Hibs (A).

The 2 home games against Hibs and Falkirk are absolutely critical to finishing 4th. I can't see us winning both games. From that lot I can see us picking up maybe 6 or 7 points. Thats not to say, of course, that we still won't finish 4th. Hibs may well pip us at the post, but they're not perfect either as their failure to beat Livingston yesterday shows.  

[thewelllfan]

9 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Kmcalpin has repeatedly said we were never in the mix for a title challenge, so that can't be his reasoning. Singling out defeats as proof we lack big game mentalty while ignoring the home wins against Celtic and Hibs, the draws against Rangers, or any other 3 points that have helped put us where we are now, feels harsh.

The title's still up in the air and only St Mirren have won silverware (while staring at a play-off), so we're pretty much all in the same boat when it comes to questioning mentality - which Hearts, Hibs and Falkirk fans are probably doing this morning.

We do not have a big game mentality. Bottled a 3-0 lead at Tynecastle, got hammered of a poor St Mirren team in the LC semi final. Haven't beaten a team in the top 9 away from home in the league. (We did beat Aberdeen in the LC QF). Lost to an Aberdeen side with an Interim manager in the Scottish Cup. The minute we got spoken about as potential title contenders we've been beaten of Dundee and Celtic. We've had some good wins at home but we're going to look back on the season as another opportunity missed to put a trophy in the cabinet.

[bobbybingo]

5 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

We do not have a big game mentality. Bottled a 3-0 lead at Tynecastle, got hammered of a poor St Mirren team in the LC semi final. Haven't beaten a team in the top 9 away from home in the league. (We did beat Aberdeen in the LC QF). Lost to an Aberdeen side with an Interim manager in the Scottish Cup. The minute we got spoken about as potential title contenders we've been beaten of Dundee and Celtic. We've had some good wins at home but we're going to look back on the season as another opportunity missed to put a trophy in the cabinet.

Which team in our league has a big game mentality?

[Kmcalpin]

53 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Kmcalpin has repeatedly said we were never in the mix for a title challenge, so that can't be his reasoning. Singling out defeats as proof we lack big game mentalty while ignoring the home wins against Celtic and Hibs, the draws against Rangers, or any other 3 points that have helped put us where we are now, feels harsh.

The title's still up in the air and only St Mirren have won silverware (while staring at a play-off), so we're pretty much all in the same boat when it comes to questioning mentality - which Hearts, Hibs and Falkirk fans are probably doing this morning.

My target this season was 7th spot.  So, we've more than achieved that. Bottom line its been a great season results wise. Performance wise even better. As the season progressed and we settled in 4th spot I became increasingly optimistic that we could finish there. I never thought, at any stage, that a title challenge was even a remote possibility. Ambition wise, that left a top 3 finish, and I always felt that was extremely remote and is now well outwith our grasp. My disappointment at Dens was our chance to win our game in hand and pretty much seal a 4th place finish and we failed. 

To put things in perspective, this is JBA's first season in charge and he's introduced a completely alien way of playing. I've been surprised at just how well the squad adapted. Our possession stats rocketed and just look at the number of clean sheets we achieved - unheard of in my time. Its the best football I've seen from us since I was a young lad i.e. the latter days of the Ancell era. Is it the best Motherwell team I've seen? No. The team of the mid 70s, which won nothing, was a better all round team.   

Why am I questioning our mentality in big games? Rangers in 2 home games; Hearts at Tynecastle where we blew a 3 goal lead; 2 losses at Parkhead; League Cup Semi Final defeat to St Mirren; Aberdeen loss in the Scottish Cup; and Dundee at Dens. Now I'm not saying that all of that was down to our mentaility because it wasn't. JBA settling in tactics wise; poor refereeing/VAR; and sheer bad luck have all played a part, but lack of that hard mentality has been a theme running through these games. As I'm finishing this post, I've just read Thewellfan's post. To crib from him/her our away form has been fair at best. Our possession stats haven't always translated into hard goals and results. 

We are where we are and I'm more than happy with that. I'm confident these weaknesses will be rectiifed in time for next season.  

Apologies for the rant and straying off topic. 

[thewelllfan]

10 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Which team in our league has a big game mentality?

Hearts, Celtic, St Mirren (This season) you can argue Rangers. Before you tell me St Mirren are staring at a play-off I'd have their season over ours 100 times out of 100.

[bobbybingo]

2 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

My target this season was 7th spot.  So, we've more than achieved that. Bottom line its been a great season results wise. Performance wise even better. As the season progressed and we settled in 4th spot I became increasingly optimistic that we could finish there. I never thought, at any stage, that a title challenge was even a remote possibility. Ambition wise, that left a top 3 finish, and I always felt that was extremely remote and is now well outwith our grasp. My disappointment at Dens was our chance to win our game in hand and pretty much seal a 4th place finish and we failed. 

To put things in perspective, this is JBA's first season in charge and he's introduced a completely alien way of playing. I've been surprised at just how well the squad adapted. Our possession stats rocketed and just look at the number of clean sheets we achieved - unheard of in my time. Its the best football I've seen from us since I was a young lad i.e. the latter days of the Ancell era. Is it the best Motherwell team I've seen? No. The team of the mid 70s, which won nothing, was a better all round team.   

Why am I questioning our mentality in big games? Rangers in 2 home games; Hearts at Tnecastle where we blew a 3 goal lead; 2 losses at Parkhead; League Cup Semi Final defeat to St Mirren; Aberdeen loss in the Scottish Cup; and Dundee at Dens. Now I'm not saying that all of that was down to our mentaility because it wasn't. JBA settling in tactics wise; poor refereeing/VAR; and sheer bad luck have all played a part, but lack of that hard mentality has been a theme running through these games. As I'm finishing this post, I've just read Thewellfan's post. To crib from him/her our away form has been fair at best. Our possession stats haven't laways translated into hard golas and results. 

We are where we are and I'm more than happy with that. I'm confident these weaknesses will be rectiifed in time for next season.  

Apologies for the rant and straying off topic. 

No, those are all fair points. Our away form certainly hasn't been outstanding, though it hasn't been disastrous. One home loss in March is beyond anyone's wildest dreams, as is the quality of football. The success of the season does all depend on these last 8 games. It feels as though everyone's pretty much running on fumes at this stage. Those guys have put themselves where they need to be, so I suppose we're about to find out if they have the mentality, or to put it more bluntly, the balls to stay there.

[bobbybingo]

12 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

Hearts, Celtic, St Mirren (This season) you can argue Rangers. Before you tell me St Mirren are staring at a play-off I'd have their season over ours 100 times out of 100.

Hearts just lost at Kilmarnock. They also lost a huge game at Ibrox and have failed to beat us so far. Celtic lost a cup final to St Mirren and still trail Hearts in the league. Rangers have only lost 2 league games but still sit in 3rd place, They lost a 2 goal lead at home to Celtic, and followed that up by going out of the cup to them in a penalty shoot-out last week. St Mirren have 9 huge league games coming up, plus another semi-final. We'll see how those go.

Other than Falkirk fans, probably, I guarantee every other set of supporters have asked/are asking questions about their team's mentality this season.

[Kmcalpin]

4 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Other than Falkirk fans, probably, I guarantee every other set of supporters have asked/are asking questions about their team's mentality this season.

Thats a fair point and we won't know the answer about mentality until the dust has settled on this season. The proof of the pudding and all that. I was speaking to a Hearts fan during the week and after complimenting us for our refreshing style of football he said that he thought his team would falter as their character and mentaility were not what it takes to be winners. For all of the top 6 teams there are hard games coming up and there will be no hiding places. A good start for us will be to beat Hibs next Saturday.  If we are to be ruthless, I'd like to do so in a manner that impacts negatively on their confidence. Just read Joe's post on P & B and I agree that we need to mix things up a wee bit. Maybe we've become a bit stale and predictable in recent weeks?   

[MJC]

58 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

We do not have a big game mentality. Bottled a 3-0 lead at Tynecastle, got hammered of a poor St Mirren team in the LC semi final. Haven't beaten a team in the top 9 away from home in the league. (We did beat Aberdeen in the LC QF). Lost to an Aberdeen side with an Interim manager in the Scottish Cup. The minute we got spoken about as potential title contenders we've been beaten of Dundee and Celtic. We've had some good wins at home but we're going to look back on the season as another opportunity missed to put a trophy in the cabinet.

 

42 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

Hearts, Celtic, St Mirren (This season) you can argue Rangers. Before you tell me St Mirren are staring at a play-off I'd have their season over ours 100 times out of 100.

Absolutely spot on in both posts. We’ve been great to watch this season and we’ve all enjoyed it, but it’s very much a case of “so near yet so far” when it comes down to results. 
 

And your point about taking St.Mirren’s season over ours 100x from 100 is also bang on the money and I will not believe anyone who tries to say different. Yes they may well be in the mix for relegation and may even be relegated. But they have put a trophy in their cabinet, something we have failed to do for 35 years now. They will remember and celebrate that long after this season, JBA and this current crop of ‘Well players have moved on and became largely footnotes in our history. And what hurts most is that that could very well have been us lifting that League Cup trophy in December against the worst Celtic side led by their worst and most incompetent manager ever but we completely shat it against St.Mirren in that Semi Final and got hammered 4-1. That very same St.Mirren we pumped 5-0 at their own ground just a few months later. That is a sore one.

St.Mirren will probably get relegated, come back up and win another trophy before we even get a sniff of one.