Motherwell primed for Sligo Rovers Europa Conference League test after intense camp in Austria, says Bevis Mugabi

Motherwell defender Bevis Mugabi insists the club's intense summer training camp in Austria has them well-drilled for the challenge they will face from Sligo Rovers in tonight's Europa Conference League second round qualifier.

The Steelmen welcome the League of Ireland outfit to Fir Park for the first leg in the knowledge their opponents are already up-and-running for the competitive season, while this will be Motherwell's first competitive fixture since a 6-0 hammering by Celtic on the final day of last season in May.

Earlier this month, boss Graham Alexander took his side to Europe for a week-long camp in the Austrian forest and Mugabi says the intensity of the Obertraun trip will make sure they are prepared for a huge night and says you will be hard pushed to find a fitter side.

The 27-year-old said: "We are ready, definitely – especially after our training camp in Austria.

“I don’t think anybody wants to go back there any time soon!

“It was a hard shift, very, very tough – especially with the 6am wake-up calls, then the running in the forest and the quadruple sessions we were doing.

“We kind of expected it. Kevin van Veen worked with the manager in the past and had been talking about the off-season programmes that he’d done.

“We went into it with the mindset it was going to be tough but we never knew it was going to be that tough.

“We had triple sessions, running in the forest, another session, more running... then a gym session to finish us off. It was more of a mental battle to get us mentally prepared for the season and it has definitely done that.

“I’d be surprised if there are many fitter teams than us, to be honest.

“We know Sligo are a good team, they have some good threats and they are here in this round