Stephen Robinson is warning his side against complacency when Ross County come calling in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday.
Motherwell are in buoyant mood after three wins against difficult opponents.
But the manager says the squad will be made well aware of the need to display the same battling qualities to stand an chance of making it four successive victories.
On guarding against complacency
“It’s just the start of the season. We’ve started well. But we can’t turn up expecting to just win football matches.
“We had to work very hard for our win against Hearts. In the first 20 minutes it was scrappy and we had to fight before we played any football. And the same in the last 15 minutes where they put us under a lot of pressure. It’s going to be the same on Saturday.
“Ross County had a good result last week. I have a lot of admiration for the two coaches and for Roy MacGregor. I think they’ve done really well.
“They gave us a lesson last year at Christmas time that if you turn up and don’t perform they’ve got a lot of players that will punish you. And I think they’ve improved since then as well.”
On Ross County
“They are a dangerous side. They are well drilled. I think Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson have got the boys playing very well.
“We always have good conversations coaching-wise when we speak to each other. So there’s a lot of mutual respect there. Believe me, we will be well prepared for it. We have to be.
“I’ve worked with Billy McKay. I know he’s a threat in and around the box. The big boy [Ross] Stewart… if they play him out wide, they’ll hit diagonal balls onto him. And Michael Gardyne has been there and done that, and is very experienced.
“The front three cause a lot of problems. They’ve got good footballers in midfield. Technically very good. So we have to be at our very best.
“We can’t be judged on beating Hearts or Hibs. This is where we get judged. We have to make sure we try and get the three points against Ross County.”
On Charles Dunne’s injury
“Charles [Dunne] we are still waiting for. He’s going to see a specialist on Monday. So I can’t give you an indication of how long that will be.
“We think it will be a little while but I wouldn’t like to put a timescale on it before he sees the specialist on Monday. So we will probably have an update then.”
On other returning players
“Christy Manzinga got another 70 minutes. Bevis Mugabi got 60 in the reserves.
“Maybe both need another reserve game to put them right into contention. But they are getting there and there’s a lot of competition for places.”