Midfielder Craig Clay feels he is getting up to his peak fitness after enjoying a solid start to his debut season in Claret and Amber.
Ahead of the Fir Parkers trip to Firhill to face Partick Thistle, the 24-year-old spoke to the press where he eluded to the level of confidence among the squad.
The Englishman touched on the fact that a big win last weekend can be the catalyst for further victories.
He said: “We already knew before Saturday that we’ve been a bit unlucky with a few of the results, like the Dundee and Rangers games.
“We know we’ve got a good team but obviously with some players coming back, like Moulty on Saturday getting four goals on his first start since coming back, we have a confident squad.
[pullquote]That win on Saturday sets us up well for this Saturday – if we go and win that we can stay in the top six so hopefully we can go there, put in a good performance and get the three points.[/pullquote]
He added: “That win on Saturday sets us up well for this Saturday – if we go and win that we can stay in the top six so hopefully we can go there, put in a good performance and get the three points.”
When asked about his own performance and his opinion of the game in Scotland, Clay said: “I had a bit-part pre-season in terms of fitness and I feel like I’m just coming up to my best now, but in terms of the games so far I’m loving it to be honest.
“The way we play football – trying to get it down and play football – that suits me and I’m loving every minute.”
He added: “The majority of games, give or take the Celtic game, are quite close games and one goal here or there normally nicks it and you have to be concentrated for every single minute.
[pullquote]I had a bit-part pre-season in terms of fitness and I feel like I’m just coming up to my best now, but in terms of the games so far I’m loving it to be honest.[/pullquote]
“Down South in the Conference there’s a lot of games where you go in to it and it’s just hoof ball where it goes over your head as a midfielder so I like it when you can get it down, play it through the midfield and play a bit more.”
In the Conference, Clay played alongside or against a few familiar faces around the training ground at Motherwell – including Richard Tait, Ben Heneghan and Louis Moult.
He also struck up a good friendship with new signing Ryan Bowman, and Clay admitted the striker is a great addition to the squad.
He said: “I played with Ryan Bowman at York and as you can tell he’s a big strong lad, he’s a unit and he’s very good in the air and once he gets off the mark I think he’ll be very hard to stop.”