Motherwell manager Graham Alexander accepts losing Tony Watt has influenced their results – but he is convinced they will soon adjust to the departure of their top goalscorer.
Well went into the winter break in fourth place in the cinch Premiership but then sold Watt to Dundee United after the forward signed a pre-contract at Tannadice on the back of hitting nine league goals.
Six league games in 2022 have yielded just two goals and two points, with the Steelmen’s latest defeat coming after Watt netted his first United goal in a 2-0 home win.
Alexander admitted the transfer window was a “destabilising” period and could not argue with the assessment they have been missing Watt’s goals.
“It’s not a lazy argument, he was the top scorer in the Premiership,” said Alexander ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against Aberdeen at Fir Park.
“I think we are creating as many chances as we did previously, but we’re not taking advantage of those chances. Tony, in that period, for us, was taking advantage of those chances.
“It’s quite clear. It would be silly for to say it’s a lazy argument. It’s not. It could be any player who has been a significant part of what you are doing, when they are missing there’s going to be an adjustment period.
“That’s what we have to do, we have to adjust. We have lost a certain type of player and haven’t got a direct replacement in how he plays so we have to adjust our game for whoever is going to play in those positions.
“That’s where we are finding those adjustments but we are still creating chances and the stats tell us that.”
Alexander added: “It’s why strikers get the most money, because they do the most important thing and that’s score goals.
“Other players have to take that responsibility, and I’m talking about midfielders who break into the box, defenders who go up for set-pieces, which we are not taking advantage of.
“We have to find that adjustment quickly but we have players who will score goals.”
Motherwell bounced back strongly from a difficult October when they took one point from five games.
“The key was we analyse things, we put things in perspective, we find what we can control out of those results and try to effect that and work to improve on it,” Alexander said.
“But we never lose sight of the fact we have good players. I played for 24 seasons and I can guarantee it wasn’t 24 glory-filled seasons. A lot of them were grinds and they were difficult and you had to fight your way through it.
“But I found that managers had trust in me that eventually we would come good and I would come good and that’s the case with my players.
“A lot of them we have brought to the club, a lot of them we have kept at the club because I trust them and I know they are good players.
“But we are in a division with a lot of giants in Scottish football and I think we have competed really well with them for a year.
“But we are going to have difficult moments. We are quite clear with that before we even kicked a ball. We make pre-season difficult so we know who are the characters that will come through.
“This is the moment you see the personality and character of your players. In periods like this you learn more about yourself, your club, your players and that’s how you step forward.
“You take the hits, you fail, you come back, you keep fighting and you get success in the end. That fight will never go from me, it will never go from my players, or my team or my squad, or this club.”
Alexander revealed midfielder Barry Maguire would be out for another “month or so” after getting a scan on a knee injury.
