Motherwell boss demands reaction to Kilmarnock defeat as Inverness come calling in cup

Motherwell boss Steven Hammell wants to see a reaction to their defeat at Kilmarnock when they host Inverness in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup tonight.

The Steelmen took the lead at Rugby Park on Saturday, but the hosts rallied to claim a 2-1 victory and inflict a first defeat on Hammell since he officially took the reins at Fir Park.

Now he is demanding his players atone for a poor display, finding their killer instinct and book a quarter-final place.

He said: “It’s a huge game and we can’t forget the good things we’ve done so far this season.

“But the message has always been the same from myself, we need to continue to strive to get better, to be better.

“We’ve got a big week coming up and we want to see a reaction from losing.

"We put a lot into the match but also the overriding factor is the goals we conceded were very poor.

“We created chances, we scored a great goal and then we’ve got good chances again.

“We spoke before about being clinical, we had a good chance at 1-0 and don’t make the most of it and then another chance at 1-1.

“We need to be really clinical, especially away from home.

“But the goals we conceded are nowhere near good enough.

“There’s no way we can give away the goals we did and expect to get anything from it.

“We knew what we were going to come up against, in terms of defending crosses and long throws and the physical aspect of the game, which I think we’ve been really good at recently.

“But I don’t think we stood up to that against Kilmarnock.

“The only thing that keeps going through my head is the two goals we conceded, especially the second one.

“From where it’s come from at this level it just shouldn’t happen and we need to learn from it and be better for it.”

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