STEPHEN PEARSON is ready to make up for lost time and play his part in hauling Motherwell into the top six.

The former Celtic and Scotland midfielder suffered a knee injury on the opening day of the Ladbrokes Premiership season that saw him go under the knife before weeks out recuperating.

It has led to a frustrating period in the stand for Pearson as he has been forced to watch his team-mates toil in front of him on the park.

That stuttering start to the campaign culminated in a 3-2 extra-time League Cup loss at Morton last week, a defeat which ultimately cost Ian Baraclough his job as manager.

Pearson finally made his return to the team on Saturday when he helped Motherwell get back on an even keel and beat Partick Thistle 2-1.

The 32-year-old accepts that performances and results haven’t been good enough so far for a club with top-six aspirations.

But knowing a win this weekend at Dundee could propel them into the top half of the table, Pearo is desperate to get Well going.

He said: “I’m delighted to be back. I thoroughly enjoyed the Thistle game in what was a great three points after a tough week for everyone at the club.

“It’s been really difficult watching on. Any injured player will tell you that there is nothing worse than when you are out and can’t help the team, especially with the way results were going.

“I have been disappointed to miss such a large chunk of the season but hopefully that’s behind me now and I’m glad to be back.

“I only trained a couple of days last week after seven or so weeks out, it will take time to get match fitness back.”

He added: “Obviously the manager losing his job doesn’t look good on the club, but we are only a win off the top six.

“We should have picked up more points than we have done and performances and haven’t been good enough. The players accept that.”

Saturday’s win over Thistle was a positive end to a traumatic week for everyone connected with the Fir Park club.

Less than a year on from Stuart McCall’s resignation, the board have once again commenced a search for a new manager, a vacancy that has already attracted 70 applications.

It can be a troublesome time as well for players who are unsure of the impact a new manager may have on their own aspirations or place in the team.

“As an experience player who has played at different levels everywhere, you have got to use that experience to help the younger players coming through,” said Pearson.

“They have great ability, it’s just difficult circumstances with everything up in the air. We enjoyed the result on Saturday and we will all go again.

“Everybody was disappointed to see Ian go, nobody wants to see someone lose their job.

“The manager was great with me, I had a great relationship with him so I’m one of many players that was gutted to see him leave.

“Obviously the owner felt it was time for a change and we will see where we go from here over the next couple of weeks.”

Interim caretaker Stephen Craigan remains the favourite to land the post on a permanent basis after the other two front runners – Steven Pressley and Mitchel Van Der Gaag – have both taken themselves out of the running.