The Thistle Archive

Media report

THE match had long been concluded but Alex McLeish was still on edge. As people milled around the Motherwell manager eager to congratulate him after an exciting 3-1 win over Partick Thistle, his eyes followed the movements of one or two of his players who had been press-ganged. Most of the hacks surrounded Billy Davies, and as he began to relive the game, his manager called across the crowded Fir Park foyer: “Billy, say nothing about titles.” McLeish had been careful to swerve around any conversation which made mention of the premier division championship. Suspicions abound in football and the Fir Park club’s manager perhaps didn’t wish to tempt fate by talking about the title at this stage of the season. Also, people like McLeish, whose experience has been gained at the sharp end of the business, know how difficult it can be to win titles. Usually the top prizes are taken by the strongest teams, those outfits with the largest playing pools and the greatest spending power. The premier division is a long, hard slog and the campaign is about to enter the winter period, during which resources are tested.

The desire of many to include Motherwell among the small list of would-be champions must tell us something about a provincial team which is performing with a flourish and elegance not recently witnessed in the country’s top division. Motherwell are not merely looking good, they are radiant. Confidence is oozing as freely as the passes which carry the ball all over the pitch in crisp, sharp movements. There were many times on Saturday when Thistle’s players must have felt like those Scottish internationalists who couldn’t get the ball off the Russians the other week. Ian Cameron, one of Thistle’s more cerebral performers, might even have had difficulty in preventing himself from applauding parts of the opposition’s work. Motherwell’s play was fluent, particularly in the first half, and much too potent for Thistle, who appeared leaden-footed. Yet, there seems to be no great secret to Motherwell’s success. It is all down to freedom of expression. “In training we are told to pass the ball around, we are encouraged to pass,” said Davies. “We just make passes.” However, he is understating Motherwell’s case, because in order to play and receive passes, footballers have to believe in themselves. They have to believe in their own abilities and from that comes the confidence to knock the ball around.

McLeish is showing himself to be a manager with motivational skills — one of the key qualities to managerial success — and when you study him at work it is obvious he has a rapport with his players. Of course, he inherited a decent team from Tommy McLean, but it is as though McLeish has helped them break free of their inhibitions, and they are performing now with enthusiasm, which, if maintained, will sweep more than Thistle aside. But can they maintain it? McLeish is not the one to ask because he clings to the old managerial life-raft of looking no further than the next challenge, but whatever becomes of Motherwell from here on in, they have at least given us some hope for the future. Motherwell’s approach is exhilarating, although Thistle didn’t think so. “We were outplayed and outrun,” said the Firhill side’s manager, John Lambie, “even after we had got a goal back. They are a good side. In fact, Motherwell are the best side we have played this season.” Thistle’s misery was increased when Gregg Watson, who had been booked in the first half, was ordered off after a badly timed challenge on Tommy Coyne in 52 minutes. Motherwell’s opening goal, in six minutes, was taken by Coyne, whose finish from the edge of the box was precise, and in 22 minutes Davies scored from outside the area. Dougie Arnott scored the third in 39 minutes and although Cameron scored in 45 minutes, Thistle knew they were not only in a lower class but an altogether different school.

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