Gerry McCabe ahead of St Johnstone

22/12/11 GMc - "We have all got to take responsibility, defend as a team and work hard as a team. If we can keep ourselves in the game then we have a chance.

With Manager Jim McIntyre on tribunal call up at Hampden, it was his assistant Gerry McCabe who gave his thoughts to the media at the pre match press call on Thursday. He started off with a reportr on the state of his players' fitness:-

"We have players back, Cardle was on the bench last week but with another week's training in, he's back. Burns is back, Boyle's back, Hardie has had more football so things are looking a bit healthier than they were a few weeks ago."

That all sounded rather good but on the other hand goalkeeper Paul Gallacher is awaiting a scan on his shoulder and there are fears that the first choice keeper might be missing for several weeks:-

"It is not as bad as it was but he did take a heavy fall on his shoulder that he has had trouble with before. Hopefully he is just badly bruised but we will not know the extent of that until we get results of the scan."

Gerry acknowledged that they are fortunate that they have an experienced goalkeeper in Chris Smith to come in:-

"He is in his second season here now, he works with Gall and the two of them work well together. We have no qualms about bringing Chris in. It is the hardest position in football because you can move players around but goalkeepers can only play one position. He has waited for his chance and this is his opportunity. Gall would be the first one to back him up and say 'go and take your opportunity'."

Chris Smith - ready to step up

The management team are hoping the Board will release funds that would allow the team to be freshened up:-

"We have our eye on two or three players," said Gerry, "not just because of the injury situation but also we need more competition for a few places."

Gerry and Macca have been analysing the goals that the team has been losing and feels that you could count on one hand the number of the 40 against that could be called good goals by opponents.

"We have shot ourselves in the foot a few times with the goals that we have let in, we are architects of our own downfall but we have worked hard this week doing a lot of defensive work. Defenders know that they have made a mistake; sometimes it is just the basic things that are costing us the game. We go through the video with them after every game, they are the first guys to put their hands up but they know that cannot continue.

"We need to be switched on right from the kick off. We lost a goal in two minutes last week after we had the first attack of the game. We didn't play too badly but the goals reflect the performance we had in the first half. It is bad goals and we can turn round and blame the defence for this and that, but they know how to defend from the front.

"It is a case of trying to smell the danger a wee bit earlier, try and nip it in the bud then. There are crosses coming into the box that are not the centre half's fault but they have to try and deal with it. We have all got to take responsibility, defend as a team and work hard as a team. If we can keep ourselves in the game then we have a chance.

"We have scored the first goal five times this season and of those we gave drawn two and won three. It just shows you how important the first goal is."

Gerry McCabe fears that if the stretch of eight home games without a win this season then there could be a bad psychological problem created. he suggested that examination of the teams in the SPL reveals many getting better results away from home. Motherwell have won seven out of nine and Saturday's opponents St Johnstone have lost only one of their nine away games.

"In the First Division we might have got away with a lot of the mistakes that we have made, but not in this league. It would be great for everybody at the Club for us to get our first home win. It could give you that wee lift that gave Aberdeen two great results in their last two games and see where they are sitting at the moment.

"We want to get something out of every game but Saturday more so because we know how vital and how big the game is. If we perform the way we can then we will certainly get a result."

Gerry voiced his disappointment that there appears to be a wall of silence where referees are concerned. Invited to speak about Jim McIntyre's appearance at an SFA Disciplinary Tribunal his assistant added:-

"The problem comes because the referees cannot make a comment. If the referee could have pulled Jim into his room after the game to explain why he made the decision, then before you go to the press conference it is explained. But if you don't hear anything you are aggrieved about him giving a penalty against us.

"Jim didn't make the comment about Steve Conroy's performance, it was about the decision; he just said I think he got his decision wrong. Jim didn't say anything about his overall performance. They are going to make mistakes, of course they are.

"They have to be more open. The referees always have meetings before the season starts, they want a better relationship but it seems to be once the season starts that you feel you are detached from them. You can't say this, you can't say that - you can't say anything.

"It is our livelihood, we are going to be aggrieved, we are going to contest every decision whether it is right or wrong. We just want the best for our team and with decisions like that the referee should be allowed to come out and say something about it."