No real complaints there...can't be complacent but you'd expect nothing less than winning the group and we have as sporting a chance of earning a seeded spot as anyone else.
Motherwell have been drawn with Morton, Queen of the South, Annan Athletic and Dumbarton in Group E of the Betfred sponsored League Cup. The action begins in mid July. - External Link
No real complaints there...can't be complacent but you'd expect nothing less than winning the group and we have as sporting a chance of earning a seeded spot as anyone else.
On paper you'd expect us to win all 4 games but thats unlikely in reality. Its the toughest draw for any top seeded team in the tournament, with 2 Championship sides in Group E.
We should be looking to qualify from that group as winners, nothing else is acceptable. It won't be a walk in the park by any means and alot will come down to where the fixtures take place, with QoS and Morton being the potentially toughest games for us. QoS gave us a tough game at this stage last year but we were pretty poor despite our win, and of course Morton knocked us out of the League Cup at Cappielow in 2015 on that infamous night which ended Baraclough's tenure. We are the top flight side however and this is a competition which potentially provides us with one of two major honours that we can win, so we need to be professional and up for it when these games come around.
Can't disagree with that LSM. Our game against QoS will be at Palmerston most likely and of course it'll be like a cup final to them. At that stage of the season part time sides will be as fit if not fitter than full time outfits. This usually translates into a few cup shocks.
No arguments there.
There's also a lot of momentum to be gained by winning - even if we don't do enough on goal difference to seeded but knock Morton and QotS off comfortably 2-0, we will be feeling good going into the league start. The awful performances in the group last year, coupled with a tough opening at ER, suddenly had us under pressure going into just the second game of the year. Which of course we compounded by losing.
Yes it's early in summer and yes we should have a wee experiment bit there's a lot to be gained from being ready and professional from the off.
Well we lost on penalties in Stranraer and struggled a long time against Clyde...