Lasley and Co hoping to show Gannon they are fast learners

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 10:10

MOTHERWELL midfielder Keith Lasley believes the team can show new manager Jim Gannon they are already taking on board his ideas during tonight's European clash against Llanelli, writes GAVIN McCAFFERTY.

Gannon has had just three days of training to prepare the Steelmen for the first leg of the Europa League qualifying round at Airdrie's Excelsior Stadium. However, he has already made a positive impression on the players.

The former Stockport manager is aiming to produce attractive but effective football and may employ the 4-2-3-1 formation that drew much success with County.

"He's got clear ideas on how he likes the game to be played," Lasley said. "It's up to us to take that on board as quickly as we can and try to implement that.

"Obviously it's a short space of time, I'm sure he would like more time with us before the first competitive game. But it's not to be, we've got a game and we'll try our best to implement some of his ideas as soon as possible."

Gannon will have to be more pragmatic in his first match in charge with just 11 experienced players available following numerous departures from Fir Park this summer, although 24-year-old midfielder Steve Jennings was yesterday brought in from Tranmere Rovers, albeit too late for this tie.

A Motherwell team featuring the untried Jonathan Page at right-back lost 3-1 to Welsh champions Rhyl in a closed-doors game on Saturday. But Lasley is not reading too much into that result, which saw Motherwell concede three goals in the opening 11 minutes. "I think Saturday's game was really good just to get into a game situation," the 29-year-old said.

"We had only been in training for a handful of days."