Motherwell win was a 'monkey off our back' says relieved star, after ending poor run

Blair Spittal says Motherwell got a real monkey off their back with their first Premiership win in 16 games on Saturday, but his side must build on that.

The sense of relief around Fir Park was palpable after Spittal’s 14th-minute opener was added to by a Theo Bair double either side of a Scott Pittman volley, which provided their first three points since beating Hearts 1-0 at Tynecastle on September 3.

But Spittal says they must add to that when they visit Hibs at Easter Road on Tuesday in their final game before the winter break.

He said: “When you’re on the run that we’re on, it’s important to get that monkey off our back and it’s a big three points.

“It was important to make sure that we go into the break with a wee bit of momentum behind us, and hopefully we can take it into Tuesday.

“Getting the first goal was big. I think the manager stressed how important it was, when we spoke during the week.

“He said a lot of games in this league are tight, not a lot of goals are scored in the first half, so it’s more as the game grows.

“But I thought we gave ourselves a great platform in the game, and it was probably a bit of sloppiness to let Livingston back in the game, but we were really good, in the first half especially.

“The goal goes in for Livi and gives them a wee bit of a lift, but the fans stuck with us and we kept doing what was giving us joy – we never went into our shell.

“We put the ball down the side of them, we had three willing runners, in the boys up top, and there were a couple of great finishes from Theo.”

Midfielder Spittal added: “The conditions probably dictated what type of game it was going to be. We knew we weren’t going to be able to get the ball down and play the type of football that we want to,