McCall feels pain after loss

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall claimed his side's 1-0 defeat by St Mirren was more painful than their Ibrox thrashing after they missed the chance to move fourth in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

The Lanarkshire side would have leapfrogged Kilmarnock with victory at Fir Park last night but they struggled to find any urgency or spark and rarely troubled Saints keeper Paul Gallacher.

Darren Randolph was busier than his opposite number and he was beaten in the 81st minute when substitute Michael Higdon brushed off a defender before striking a powerful effort from the edge of the box that bounced up off a divot and over the Motherwell goalkeeper's arm.

McCall said: "That hurts me more than the Rangers result did because what it could have meant for us.

"We didn't seem to grasp where that could have taken us, that could have cemented us into fourth."