Why Motherwell deserve a Grade D+ for their season so far

Joel Sked breaks down the season thus far for every team in our series of Ladbrokes Premiership mid-term report cards.

Mark McGhee will be looking for more consistency from his side. Picture: SNS

Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>

The good

Mark McGhee has given opportunities to members of the last season’s successful Scottish Youth Cup winning side, with Well cutting their playing budget. Richard Tait and Ben Heneghan have been shrewd signings, while Louis Moult and Scott McDonald is one of the better strike partnerships in the league. The latter notched a fantastically improvised goal against Aberdeen.

The bad

Despite the quality in the squad Well still only find themselves five points ahead of bottom-placed ICT. The inconsistent performances must infuriate McGhee. They’ve only taken one point from the top five teams, losing 4-3 at home to Celtic despite leading 2-0 and 3-2. Surely an upgrade on Craig Samson can be found.

Star pupil(s)

Richard Tait has offered drive and tenacity from full-back, with an ability to cross using either foot. Ben Heneghan has plenty of potential at centre-back, while Louis Moult is one of the best strikers in the division, combining a poacher’s instinct with fine play outside of the box.

To improve

The club’s veterans, McDonald apart, need to bring more to the team, while McGhee needs to find a system which brings out the best in Chris Cadden, the most promising of the club’s youngsters.

Grade D+

With the players at his disposal, McGhee will expect to see Well challenge for a top six position rather than battle it out for relegation. Yet, they can’t quite string a run of results together to pull them away.