McCall ´gutted´ by Celtic loss

Motherwell boss Stuart McCall was ‘gutted’ with his side’s 2-1 loss to Celtic that saw them relinquish second place in the Scottish Premier League.

A goal 11 minutes into the match from Michael Higdon gave Motherwell the lead at Fir Park, but Celtic hit back shortly after through Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper scored the winner in the 79th minute after a great run from Paddy McCourt.

The win saw Celtic overtake Motherwell into second place on goal difference and McCall was bitterly disappointed to come away empty handed.

“I was gutted with the result,” McCall said. “I thought we merited a point, but there was a bit of magic by McCourt and he has done that before after coming off the bench.”

“We have tired bodies when McCourt comes on because we have given everything and you do fear when he picks the ball up, but as I say I was gutted. I didn’t think there was anything but pride and positives to take from the game.”

Motherwell defender Tim Clancy was given his marching orders late on by referee Charlie Richmond for a rash challenge on Hooper, and McCall said the red card had been warranted.

“I haven’t seen it but I spoke to Tim afterwards and he has kicked him so I think it was a merited red card,” he said. “Stupid, but apparently deserved. I will have a look at it and will punish as I deem fit.”

Despite their strong early season form, McCall is adamant he still has much work to do.

“We don’t want to get beyond ourselves and think we’re better than we are but we’ve got an aim in mind and we’ll keep it to ourselves,” he said.

“We believe if we can keep the squad together and we keep improving then we can give it a real go this season.”