A point was the minimum requirement as we played the first of three home league fixtures on Saturday. Partick Thistle must dread visits to Fir Park such is their woeful return from our patch.
Motherwell have steadied the ship somewhat since the winter break but we remain on a run that shows only one win from the last dozen league games. The upcoming meetings with St Johnstone and Kilmarnock will offer another couple of chances to improve the record.
The performances in the last couple of games lacked sparkle. There were lots of hard working players who made routine contributions but few drew rave reviews and as a team we showed plenty of room for improvement.
Main and Ciftci are still building up to full match sharpness and Hendrie got his first 45 minutes on the pitch. Let's hope that as they improve their team-mates rise with them.
Kipré continues to impress and we'll miss him as he serves a one match ban against Kilmarnock in a fortnight. Reports suggest that Hartley damaged ligaments while training.
Frear was on the park for only half an hour but he showed enough to remind us that he is a capable winger. There were several tempting crosses from the left wing and when he is able to build an understanding with Main and Ciftci we can expect a few goals.
Tuesday will bring the third consecutive midweek fixture since the break and when Saturday's cup tie in Dundee arrives the team will have played seven games in three weeks. That's the price to be paid for a three week rest in January.