The opening two months of the year have been good to John Hughes' team, seven wins and three draws have them third in the league and in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. They have almost three times the points of the team newly arrived at the bottom of the table. Ian Baraclough added seven in the January window but the arrivals have, as yet, been unable to bring any joy. Only one solitary draw has broken the dismal run of seven losses .
Inverness had an excellent chance for a win at Tannadice on Wednesday. They were a goal up against ten men after 9 minutes but they lost the initiative, conceded, and had Warren sent off in added time. The number five was already suspended for Saturday's game.
It's hard to imagine the atmosphere in the Motherwell camp this week. Loss upon loss combined with the unsettling arrival of a clutch of new faces culminated in a devastating home defeat last week. There was no discernible game plan and it seemed like eleven strangers had sneaked in and stolen the claret and amber shirts.
The manager and his back room staff will have to work hard to deliver an eleven capable of convincing an increasingly sceptical home support that an improvement is on the way. The return of a fully fit Pearson would help restore some badly needed quality to midfield and the notion of ending the isolation of Sutton might also prove useful. Can we add a new striker to the growing ranks before kick off?
Inverness have already recorded 3-1 and 2-0 wins against us this season and there’s no logic to suggest they won’t defeat us again. If we can restore some pride in our performance a 2-1 defeat might give some hope for the rest of this awful season.