Motherwell boss insists they won't be derailed by artificial pitch

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson insists they will not be derailed by Hamilton's artificial pitch.

Stephen Robinson
Published 13th Oct 2017
Last updated 13th Oct 2017

The Steelmen have won five of their last seven games ahead of Saturday's Lanarkshire derby with the help of an energetic, pressing game.

There have only been five goals in the last four meetings between the teams on the SuperSeal Stadium surface but Robinson wants his new-look side to keep getting players forward.

The Motherwell boss said: "We train on astro but we don't change the way we play for anybody. We have been quite successful with it.

"We are well aware of the other team's threats and the pitch does make a difference, they are used to playing on it, but we have been on astro all week as well, so that's not an excuse. We will deal with it."

Motherwell signed off before the international break with a 3-0 win over Partick Thistle but Robinson feels his side have come back even more fired up.

"We put a lot into games, we do a lot of running and a lot of pressing, so it was nice to give them a couple of days off and refresh," he said.

"But they have come back firing again. I have actually had to hold them back in training from kicking lumps out of each other as well. That's the tempo we have created, which is good.

"A local derby, the bragging rights, we will take a lot of fans down, it does make it a little bit more spicy and it will be a physical battle, there will be no doubt about that.

"The pitch brings everything down to a level where it's 100 miles per hour as well.