MOTHERWELL captain Keith Lasley has stressed that togetherness is vital ahead of their high-stakes Lanarkshire derby.
Both Motherwell and Hamilton have lost twice since the Ladbrokes Premiership split to find themselves locked on 32 points – four above bottom-placed Inverness and four behind Dundee – ahead of their meeting at the SuperSeal Stadium on Saturday.
The Steelmen conceded the only goal against Ross County last weekend when on-loan defender Zak Jules needlessly put his team under pressure after stopping the ball going out for a goal kick.
But Lasley feels all players have a responsibility to help the 20-year-old bounce back from his mistake and make sure they are pulling in the same direction.
“That’s how we will get out of this situation,” the midfielder said. “It’s not about blaming each other, it’s about being together and that’s exactly what we will do.
“Has everything been perfect this season? Of course it’s not. Have there been mistakes? Of course there have, we have all made them. Every single player in the squad has made mistakes.
“This is not the time for saying ‘you did this, you did that’. It’s togetherness, especially going into a derby game, that’s what the fans expect of us and we expect of ourselves, to go in there together and we need to show that on Saturday.
“It’s a big game at the best of times but given the situation we are in, it is obviously magnified even more.
“This is a one-off game, it almost becomes a play-off. We are capable of winning that game on Saturday, there is absolutely no doubt about that. What we need to be is the best version of ourselves to give us a good chance.”
Lasley has played in cup finals, Champions League qualifiers and big games at the top end of the table but he knows Saturday is as important as any in his 16 years at Fir Park.
“Whatever has happened in the past is in the past,” the 37-year-old said. “We have had second-placed finishes, Europe, that’s gone. It was great, it was absolutely fantastic, this is the here and now and we have got to win a game of football on Saturday. It’s as simple as that.
“The best way to do that is for us and the fans and for everyone to be together. Hopefully that’s the case on Saturday and I’m sure it will be. I’m sure we will have a fantastic support there again. It’s up to us to do the business on the park to reward that.”
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