WES FLETCHER wasn't quite the silent assassin as he vied to make the Motherwell No.9 jersey his own but he proved to be a man of few words after victory in Inverness.

Then again, why say too much when your feet have already done the talking? The 24-year-old, picked up this summer on a free from York City, took pre-season promise into the action proper and fired hope of a far better season for the Steelmen.

Sharp-witted and ravenously hungry in and around the penalty area, Fletcher looks a more than able - and perhaps more mobile - replacement for the departed John Sutton.

Plugging the 13-goal gap left by his fellow Englishman's move to St Johnstone will be vital in avoiding a repeat dive into play-off danger.

But, encouragingly enough, the early winner struck after only four minutes means Motherwell are already a THIRD of the way towards the meagre tally of away wins collected during last season's troubles.

If Fletcher was excited by this flying start to life in Scotland, he kept it closely to his chest. In truth, though - and, again, encouragingly for Well - he cut the figure of a level-headed young man determined not to get carried away with one good performance.

Fletcher, who had also scored in the Sligo friendly and against Borussia Moenchengladbach's under 23s in Holland, said: "I couldn't have asked for a better start, really, scoring early on in the game.

"More importantly we got the win. I'll take goals like that every week, so long as we're winning.

"Every game is going to be difficult, but if we do what we have shown we can do I'm sure we can come away with the the results we need."

Fletcher is vying for the striking positions alongside veteran Scott McDonald, Louis Moult and David Clarkson.

Each and all will believe they can hold down the position and the new arrival stressed: "It's good to have strong competition in the team. "Obviously, I've got to keep doing what I've been doing to keep myself in the team.

"We've got a good mix of younger and more experienced players. It's good to have that and they help you along through the game."

Ian Baraclough praised his side after they edged out Inverness Caley Thistle to win their SPFL Premiership opener 1-0.

The Steelmen were the better side throughout and carried a threat on the counter, and but for the heroics of Caley stopper Owain Fon Williams, the scoreline could have been far more convincing.

However, it was left to Wes Fletcher to separate the sides, his fourth minute winner proving enough for all three points.

Baraclough highlighted the importance of a good start and his team building on the momentum of the play-off victory over Rangers during the pre-match build-up, and his side did that.

He said: "We created chances; we asked questions of the goalkeeper and the only real complaint is we perhaps could’ve been a little more ruthless in the final third, but that will come.

“We spoke as a group about coming into this match with no fear and having to be better away from home than what we showed last season,.

“Many aspects of today’s game were very pleasing indeed. The shape was good; it was difficult for them to find any pockets of space to feed off or anything in behind.

“We restricted them to very little throughout the game, even when we started to fatigue a little in the last ten minutes, as you tend to do in the first month of the new campaign.

“However, we maintained our concentration and proved a threat in attack. We created chances; we asked questions of the goalkeeper and the only real complaint is we perhaps could’ve been a little more ruthless in the final third, but that will come.”

Meranwhile, Well fear Stephen Pearson could have suffered a serious knee injury in Saturday's win.

The midfielder left Caledonian Stadium on crutches following a challenge in which Caley Thistle defender Gary Warren suffered a broken ankle.

Pearson, who rejoined Well in January, will have a scan this week to assess the seriousness of the injury.