Inverness CT 1 - 2 Mothwell: Craig Brown lends backing to referees as Motherwell stay clear in third

MOTHERWELL manager Craig Brown mounted a defence of Scotland's referees following this victory, and says he has tried to instill a culture of respect for officials among his players.

During his long association with the Scotland set-up, Brown is well placed to assess the standard of refereeing around the globe, and he believes Scotland is blessed with some of the finest.

"There are times when you are on the wrong end of a decision, or there's some controversy in a game, and you have to bite your lip a bit," he said. "However, I still feel the officials in Scotland are up there with the best. I've worked down south and been abroad with Scotland and the officials in this country are first class. I only hope that the referees don't mistake my respect for softness because I wouldn't like to think that a controversial decision would go against us."

Motherwell currently top the Fair Play table in Scotland and Brown said: "The players are not allowed to show any dissent towards the referee or commit unnecessary fouls. I don't know what our free-kick count was against Caley Thistle, but I'd imagine it wasn't very high."

First-half goals from Alan Gow and Nick Blackman were enough to give Motherwell their win and and tighten their grip on third place, despite Stuart Duff's late effort for Inverness setting up a tense finish.

Referee: M Tumilty

Attendance: 4054