Motherwell haven’t won in 14 games. Philippe Clement is undefeated in 15 since he became Rangers’ manager in October.

The team second from the top meets the one second from the bottom at Fir Park at lunchtime today and the hosts’ slender hopes of causing an upset rest on the broad shoulders of Mika Biereth, their leading goalscorer.

His haul of six goals in eight starts is impressive and would have been greater still if it hadn’t been for a knee injury which ruled the Arsenal loanee out for the best part of three months.

Last weekend, Ross County manager Derek Adams – the Gerald Ratner of Scottish football - back in Dingwall for a second spell after working in England’s lower leagues for nine years, variously described the standard in the Premiership as “poor”, “shocking” and “rubbish” following a home defeat by Dundee.

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell played under Adams at Victoria Park and went on to take charge of the Highland club before relocating to Lanarkshire and he believes his former mentor is talking nonsense, pointing out that an elite manager such as Mikel Arteta wouldn’t trust Motherwell to progress the career of Denmark under-21 striker Biereth if he shared Adams’ damning view of the quality on offer north of the border.

“I can’t sit here and tell Derek what to think but I just don’t agree with him,” he said. “If that’s what he feels, having spent a period away from Scottish football and come back, then so be it but I don’t think it’s accurate.

“Mika doing well for us can help us attract other loanees from the Premier League. We have to be seen – across Britain and maybe further afield - as a club that can provide an opportunity for young players to develop.

“We’ve had a few conversations with some bigger clubs because they think this might be a good place for them to place a young, talented player. I believe Scottish football is a brilliant environment for them.”

Biereth is equally positive about his experience in the Premiership after an unsatisfactory period on loan with RKC Waalwijk in the Eredivisie last season.

“This move has been a lot more productive for me than the spell in Holland,” said the 20-year-old. “That wasn’t good enough in terms of games and goals.

“In terms of my outlook on football while I was there, I wasn’t really enjoying it but it’s been a complete U-turn coming up here. I’m playing and scoring goals so it’s been a lot more productive.”

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Biereth confessed that the prospect of facing Celtic and Rangers helped convince him to move to Scotland.

He helped Kettlewell’s men take a point from Parkhead last month and he’s aiming to end their winless sequence by improving on that result against the country’s form team.

“It’s a great chance for us to turn our form round,” he said. “Every game we go into now, we hope to come out of this run and there couldn’t be tougher opposition to do it against.

“For sure, a big selling point of this league is to play against Rangers and Celtic. The away games at those stadiums are one of the reasons you come here. One of the big factors for me was to go up against big opposition and see what level I’m at.

“It’ll be interesting for me to see on Sunday. I played against Celtic at their stadium and it was a tough shift, with lots of running.

“We got a draw there but, hopefully, here at home against Rangers, we can go one better.”

Biereth has become ‘Well’s talisman after scoring more goals than the club’s other strikers (Theo Bair, Joe Efford, Mark Ferrie, Jon Obika and Luca Ross) put together.

His success has convinced him he can make the grade with his parent club.

“It’s really difficult to get into the first team at Arsenal,” he conceded. “At any of the real big clubs in the world, if they don’t have a player for a certain position they can go and spend £100 million [on someone].

“So it’s just a case of being in and around it. It’s not a failure if you don’t make it at Arsenal. Maybe I’ll get a move somewhere else, whether that’s another loan or permanent, but of course, my number one objective is to get into that team.

“I can acknowledge that it’s very difficult and going a level below it at 20 years old wouldn’t be a massive failure.

“However, I have to believe I can get into that team. Why wouldn’t I? You always have to believe in your ability. I think if I played in that team, I’d score goals but it’s just about showing people that.

“Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are basically the face of Arsenal now and, like me, they both came through the academy so there’s definitely a pathway.

“I have to believe I can get into that team. Why wouldn’t I? You always have to believe in your ability. I think if I played in that team, I’d score goals but it’s just about showing people that.”