Robinson demands more from his Motherwell strugglers

Stephen Robinson has challenged his struggling Motherwell team to “stand up and be counted” after the Fir Park side’s added time loss against St Johnstone.

The Lanarkshire team have failed to record a victory at home this season and are now without a win in their last six matches.

Robinson’s men toiled in the Ladbrokes Premiership match against St Johnstone and Jason Kerr’s dramatic late headed winner took the three points back to Perth.

The Northern Irishman said: “I’m frustrated – everyone needs to have a little look at themselves.

“We had chances today and for 60 minutes I thought we played well.

“But as the game gets nearer 90 minutes, you can see the fear creeping in, and people need to stand up and be counted out there.

“Now’s the time for people to stand up and want the ball, and I didn’t see that out there bar the two young boys –  Allan Campbell and David Turnbull.

“They were excellent today, but if you don’t take your chances you get punished. That’s how it’s going at the moment.

“You can do two things now – you can feel sorry yourself, or you can dig in, grit your teeth and show your character. I want to see character.”

With Motherwell languishing in 10th position after their poor run, Robinson refused to be drawn on whether he was concerned about his position.

He said: “I don’t make that decision. I can only do my very best.

“We’ve got a club to two cup finals and we’ve played nine games this season – but I’ll take responsibility when I need to.”

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright was delighted with his team’s response as they ended a four-game losing streak.

The Perth side were without a victory in five matches before the Fir Park success and lost 6-0 to Celtic in their last outing – but this was a deserved win.

Saints largely controlled the contest throughout and Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson made a number of top saves to keep the scores level until Kerr’s late winner from Liam Craig’s corner.

Wright said: “I knew the players would step up today, and I thought there was a lot of character in that performance.

“We knew what type of game we were in for today, that we’d have to come here and battle and stand up to the physical presence.

“Our goalkeeper hasn’t really had a save to make, so it’s a really good, solid win for us.

“It’s a bit unfortunate for Motherwell, who probably thought it was going to be a draw, but we’ve had plenty of kicks in the teeth this season as well.

“That’s a massive three points for us.”