Scottish Cup exit still giving Stephen Robinson food for thought
Motherwell were knocked out by Ross County on Saturday
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson has described himself as his harshest critic as he continues to pore over their William Hill Scottish Cup exit.
Robinson took the blame immediately after Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Ross County for getting the combination wrong and he spent the rest of the weekend studying the game.
The Northern Irishman admitted Motherwell played like it was their "first pre-season game'' as County carried the greater threat for most of the game.
Robinson now doubts whether he should have started new signing Ross McCormack so soon after his recovery from a knee injury, and felt he should have played Curtis Main or Conor Sammon to hold the ball up front rather than playing Danny Johnson with McCormack just behind him.
"I take results very personally,'' he said. "I think people think you just go home and close the door. I had my parents and my son over on Saturday and I don't think I spoke two words to them. It does affect your life.
"But I am big enough to hold my hands up. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked Danny to do something he wasn't able to do, he probably needs to play alongside someone who is going to do that.
"Perhaps I should have brought Ross on at half-time or in the final 30 minutes when the game opened up a little and he could influence the game, rather than at the start when it was 100 miles an hour.
"You always look at what you have done. Did we give them too many days off, not enough days off in the break? Did we work them hard enough, which we certainly did? Did we work them too hard?
"I'm the first person to criticise myself. And I have looked and I have answers to why it wasn't right on Saturday, whether that's personnel changes or something we do differently.
"But we are one game into the second half of the season so for me it's not a crisis point. Yes, I'm well aware we need to win football matches and we are all working as hard as we possibly can.''
Motherwell have the chance to cheer their fans up when they host Hibernian on Wednesday before facing a trip to Ladbrokes Premiership bottom club Dundee on Saturday.
"We have to try and be better than what we were in the first half of the season,'' Robinson said.
"The next two games are really really important and impact on whether we are looking to stay safe or looking at the top six. First and foremost we need to get that sharpness back and give the fans something to believe in again.'