A bus with a happy Motherwell squad will travel to Inverness for the final game of the season on Saturday. Safety is assured and relegation fears dismissed...but not for the home side.
Richie Foran’s team produced a surprise midweek win at Dens Park to stretch their survival hopes to this final fixture. They need three points and a favourable result from Hamilton to pull off an escape act worthy of Houdini to grab a play-off lifeline. Can they overcome an unburdened Motherwell side?
Tempers rise in Inverness
Barring injuries we can expect to see an unchanged Inverness side given the chance to face us. Vigurs has found form and was praised for his contribution on Wednesday but he was not alone. ICT played with a confidence that has been missing for most of the season. We can be assured that they will be up for the fight on Saturday.
Stephen Robinson may be tempted to test one or two of next season’s possibles but our limited squad size guarantees that we will have a chance to say farewell to a few of the older guard. Ainsworth, Lasley, Pearson, McDonald and McFadden all come to the end of their contracts next week and with growing speculation surrounding Moult, Cadden and Heneghan we can be sure that it will be a different Motherwell team that starts the new campaign. Some said their farewells on the farewell lap at Fir Park on Tuesday.
A win would ensure ninth place and there remains a chance of eighth. The playing budget will increase with every position so there remains a real incentive to succeed. But the momentum must be with the home side and that may tip the game in their favour. We could suffer a 2-0 defeat.