Graham Alexander wants Motherwell to forget league split and focus on St Mirren

Motherwell v Celtic – cinch Premiership – Fir Park
(Image credit: Steve Welsh)

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander is looking no further than St Mirren on Saturday as excitement around the upcoming split increases.

The Steelmen are in a rut, having not won in 11 cinch Premiership matches.

And with two fixtures remaining before the league breaks into top half and bottom half, they are in eighth place, with only two points between fifth-placed Hibernian and 10th-placed Aberdeen.

After hosting Saints at the weekend, Well travel to Livingston next week but Alexander’s attention is solely on the first of the crucial double-header.

“Right now it is not about how we finish in the league, it is about trying to win the game on Saturday,” said the Fir Park manager who, along with two staff and three players, recovered from Covid during the international break,

“So that’s what we focus on and the process for that, what we have to do defensively, what we have to do attacking-wise, how we have to put St Mirren on the back foot and create opportunities for us to score.

“That is what we are focused on. You can talk about the past, you can talk about the future but it is about the now, the present and about this game, and that’s all we have been focused on for the last two weeks.

“There is no point talking about anything else apart from us getting in our best mindset, our best physical condition and tactically be aware of what we have to do.

“It is about this game and this game only and we go into it with a good team, a good squad.

“They know they are good players. We know we have had a difficult period but we also understand the qualities we have in the players and they all want to win. They are all working hard to win and that’s what we will try to do tomorrow.

“We are at the business end of the season and that’s where things are sorted in leagues throughout the world. But you can only win one game at a time and if you are looking ahead or looking behind you, you are taking away the focus on what is right in front of you.”