RICHARD TAIT admits he feared Mark McGhee was for the chop in the wake of Motherwell’s 5-1 defeat to Dundee.
Just three days after that Fir Park mauling McGhee was eventually relieved of his duties, bringing to a halt a 17-month second spell in Lanarkshire.
It was an end game that you felt was slowly coming closer for the Scotland assistant. Just two wins in their last 14 and not long off the back of a 7-2 hiding in Pittodrie, protests at the weekend seemed to signal the beginning of the end for the 59-year-old.
Tait did not play in the Dundee demolition on Saturday, but painfully watched on from the stands as his team-mates toiled. And speaking ahead of today’s trip to face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, the right-back conceded he feared the worst.
“Possibly, yeah,” he said. “Everyone knows that you're under pressure in terms of the results we've had previously. It was always a possibility that [McGhee getting the sack] could happen.
“As much it was a possibility it was a real surprise on Tuesday.
“Everyone knows that these things can happen in football. It could happen and it did happen.
“He was very popular in the dressing room and all the lads really like him. It's hard to see him go but that's football. We've got to move on quickly and get on with the job.
“I wish him all the best for the future.”
Motherwell’s Kryptonite this season can be found in the boots of strikers around the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Just looking at their last four games, the Fir Park club have lost 3-0, 7-2, 2-0 and 5-1. That’s 17 goals conceded and just three scored.
Tait played in the 3-0 home reverse to Hearts and that game in Aberdeen, so is blameless for the other two. Nevertheless, the fact Motherwell have the poorest goal difference in the Scottish top flight tells of a problem that is part of a deeply rooted problem that has manifested itself throughout the campaign.
Tait was frank in his assessment.
“We're conceding too many goals. I think Dundee had five attempts on goal and five goals so that's something we need to look at.
“We have been this week. We've worked really hard on the training pitch and we'll hopefully put that right on Saturday.
“[Players need to stand up and be counted] 100%. We let the gaffer down and he paid the price for it. We need to pull together like we have been this week and work together and put things right.
“It's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously everyone looks at the defence and goalkeeper if you concede a lot of goals but the team defends and the team attacks.
“We've looked at it this week and worked really hard on it.”
The proof will be in the pudding this afternoon.
Motherwell’s need is great to get some points on the board, but so to managerless Kilmarnock’s.
Midweek results have placed Steve Robinson’s visitors second bottom of the table, just two points above Inverness Caley Thistle, while their hosts – being looked after by caretaker Lee McCulloch - are slightly better off four points further ahead in eighth.
Tait insists morale is still high in the camp despite recent developments, but the importance of today’s trip to Ayrshire is not lost on him.
“It's a very big game,” he said, “I think they're all big games. We've got to go there and win. All this week's been geared towards Saturday and we're just raring to go now.
“They're the same as us - they're fighting for their lives. They're putting the graft in and trying to pick up points. That's what we'll be doing on Saturday, trying to get the three points to try and bridge the gap.
“The spirit's good. We're in it together. There's no moaning and groaning in the changing room, everyone's willing to put the work in and everyone wants to put things right.”
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