LOUIS Moult, the Motherwell striker, has confessed he felt he was on “death row” in the wake of his team’s capitulation to Ross County. That’s why the Fir Park striker is determined more than ever to keep the club’s survival hopes alive with a monumental result today in the Lanarkshire derby.

Two straight home defeats have plunged Motherwell deep into relegation trouble with just three games left, as they occupy the Premiership play-off position. The latest blow came courtesy of a 1-0 reverse to County – a hefty blow to to the cause, not least the morale of their top-scorer.

And the former Wrexham and Nuneaton Town man is using the misery of last Saturday night to motivate him going into this afternoon’s meeting with Accies at the SuperSeal Stadium.

“I’ll be honest, last Saturday I was on death row. It was tough for me,” said Moult. “Personally, I didn’t have the best game of my career. We lost and I didn’t score so I wasn’t a happy chappy that night.

“But you also have to try and forget about it as soon as possible to come back in on the Monday with a positive attitude. That’s what we have had to do. At the same time, you have to remember that feeling on a Saturday when you do lose and make sure you don’t feel like that again. There was loads of frustration and a lot of anger after the game on Saturday. It wasn’t good enough from us. I wasn’t good enough and I will try and put that right this weekend. The players exchanged views, just to try and rally us more than anything. We know we are better than that.

“We have shown it every now and again. In the 4-2 win over Inverness, we showed a bit there. We did it as well earlier in the season but not on a consistent enough basis.

“We keep saying we have more possession and look like the more dangerous side going forward. But that really doesn’t matter. We need to win games. Simple as.”

And that really has to start this afternoon.

Opponents Hamilton are locked on the same points with Motherwell but, with a superior goal difference, a win for the home side today would mean only a dramatic collapse by Martin Canning’s team, combined with two wins on the spin for Well – a feat they haven’t achieved all season – would save the larger of the two clubs from a dreaded play-off or worse.

Given their recent home run, combined with their unbeaten tally this season against Accies, nipping across the Clyde may not be the worst thing for Stephen Robinson’s team. Their last visit there saw Moult equalise in the dying seconds on Hogmanay to rescue a point for 10-man Motherwell. It is a feeling of euphoria he hopes to experience again today accompanied by three precious points.

He added:”That was probably one of my favourite moments of the season, especially as it was going into the break. We were down to 10 men for a long time and it felt like a winner to be honest.

“Hopefully this time it can be a winner.

“I think every time we have played Hamilton we probably should have won. We haven’t actually lost against them yet and I don’t think we are going to. In the 0-0 I thought we had all the possession. It was the story of the season, really. We looked comfortable but never quite finished them off. This is the biggest derby I’ve been involved in since coming up, definitely.

“The problem for us this season is that we haven’t been able to put a run together. Last season, we went five or six unbeaten but that’s been missing. It would be nice if we could do three unbeaten now.”