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Scottish Premiership: Stuart McCall reckons Motherwell lack belief

.Motherwell manager Stuart McCall watches on from the dugout
Image: Stuart McCall: Motherwell boss endured another defeat, this time against Partick

Motherwell boss Stuart McCall reckons his team are suffering from a lack of belief following the 3-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Partick Thistle.

McCall’s men have finished second in the league in the last two seasons, but are sitting second from bottom after nine games of the current campaign.

Stuart Bannigan and Kris Doolan gave Thistle a two-goal cushion before Lionel Ainsworth netted for Motherwell, but Stephen O'Donnell condemned the visitors to their seventh defeat of the season with eight minutes remaining.

McCall said: "Obviously when you are not winning games it's a worry. I've been through it as a player and a coach and there's no hiding place. You have to stand up and be counted.

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"I don't think it was a lack of desire or effort, they scored at the right times and took their opportunities.

"Of course it's a concern when you are losing games and near the bottom of the table. I think you could say for the last three and a half years we have punched above our weight, I think certainly at this moment we are punching below our weight.

"I don't think there is much between teams. Confidence plays a big part in football and the only way we get that back is by winning games. It's just hard work, no magic formula, it's hard work, dedication, organisation and individuals playing as well as they possibly can.

"Last year we were probably winning games like that. We've won two league games this season and we've scored first in both of them.”

Thistle manager Alan Archibald praised his players for bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at Kilmarnock last weekend - a loss which was compounded by serious injuries to Kallum Higginbotham and Dan Seaborne as Archibald prepared for the visit of Motherwell.

"We touched on it last week, we lost Dan and Kallum last week at Kilmarnock at half-time and I thought other players have got to take responsibility as a team," Archibald said.

"I thought they did that as a team. They worked ever so hard at the ugly side of the game and they got their reward with goals, good footballing goals as well."

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