Stuart McCall warns his Motherwell side to expect backlash at East End Park

The Pars are without a win at home all season, three points behind Hibernian at the foot of the standings and, to compound matters, players, management and staff received only 60 per cent of their wages this week.

The deficit is a knock-on effect of a shortfall of £84,000 in ticket revenue from Rangers’ match in Fife on 11 February, three days before the Glasgow club went into administration.

Third-placed Motherwell’s visit to Dunfermline is the Pars’ last match for three weeks – due to the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-finals and the Scottish Communities League Cup final – and will bring in revenue to allow further payment of 20 per cent of wages, with the remaining balances promised within ten days.

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall anticipates the situation at Dunfermline could invoke a siege mentality in Jim McIntyre’s squad. “It might just galvanise everyone,” said McCall, citing the example of Hearts’ strong run during their own wage woes.

“But we’ll just concentrate on what we can do. If we can put in the level of performance that we have been doing of late we’ll be confident of going and hopefully bringing the three points back.”

McCall is conscious of Dunfermline’s poor home record – six points from 14 games – while aware his side travel in search of a first SPL win away from home since December.

He said: “We’ve not won away for a wee while. We need to get back on track with an away victory and we’re looking to do that at Dunfermline.

“We’re well aware of that [Dunfermline looking for a first home win]. We don’t want it to happen tomorrow.

“They’ve got four away victories and when they came here, they’d got the same amount of away victories as we had had at home.”

Motherwell, who are six points behind Rangers and nine ahead of fourth-placed St Johnstone, lost 1-0 at leaders Celtic last week and the expectation will be of victory at East End Park.

Defender Steven Hammell, who has begun discussions about a contract extension, said: “It will be a different proposition going to Dunfermline. They’re fighting for their lives, they’ve got some off-field troubles now, but we’ve got to go and be professional and look to get three points. We know if we’re not at our best we will come away with nothing.”

Hammell has sympathy for the players at Dunfermline and Rangers, having had a similar experience when Motherwell were placed into administration ten years’ ago. Hammell said: “We’ve been there, we’ve been where Rangers are and Dunfermline, to a lesser extent – hopefully everything will be okay there. It’s not nice at all.”