STEPHEN PEARSON felt the feel-good factor sweep through Fir Park after Mark McGhee was first brought back in as Motherwell manager.

After an initial defeat to Celtic, fine performances away to Aberdeen and Kilmarnock demonstrated how the new gaffer had manage to shake up the Lanarkshire squad.

A month and a half on after a 2-2 draw with Hearts halted a run of two losses on the spin, the Well midfielder is ready for a secondary bounce to catapult the Ladbrokes Premiership’s second-bottom side up the table.

Defeats at home to Inverness and away to Ross County threatened to halt the momentum built up, particularly last weekend in Dingwall in what was Motherwell’s poorest performance under McGhee.

However, home fans were delighted with the level of performance from their team at the weekend.

Even despite letting two leads slip, the Steelmen posed plenty of problems for high-flying Hearts, and produced a much more cohesive, all-round showing.

It is a step in the right direction for Pearson, who is now hoping that consistency can be found as the Motherwell players continue to buy into their manager’s ideas.

He said: “It’s all about consistency. We did go on a run and that’s normal when a new manager comes in, you generally get a reaction from him.

“Now that the dust has settled it’s important we keep taking on board what he wants us to do. We are learning from him and he’s learning about the players and how we play and what our strengths and weaknesses are.

“It’s going to take time but we are working as hard as we can and hopefully we can get it right.”

Louis Moult netted for Motherwell within two minutes on Saturday before Juanma levelled on 10 minutes, while Marvin Johnson’s fine run and strike was wiped out within four minutes by an absolute worldy from Osman Sow after the break.

It was a hot contest that flowed from end to end in what was treacherous conditions in Lanarkshire as high winds and driven rain battered Fir Park.

Still, it wasn’t enough to dampen Pearson’s spirits on the experience.

He said: “Yeah I enjoyed it. It was a great game. I thought it was end to end even though the conditions made it quite difficult and it was a pleasing point in the end.

“Usually in a day where it is wet and the ball is zipping about you can sometimes mistime things, but we were both competitive, going for the ball.

“Hearts are a good side and they ended up pegging us back twice. We are disappointed with the manner in which we conceded so quickly. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to hold on to anything.

“It’s disappointing the way in which we conceded the first goal but their second was just a wonder strike. You can’t do anything about it so credit goes to him for the strike.”

The point gained pulls Motherwell seven points clear of bottom markers Dundee United, but it was not enough to take them out of the relegation play-off spot.

However, victory next week at Firhill against Partick Thistle could potentially take Well up into eighth, a reality that underlines Pearson’s positivity.

“We are only really concentrating on ourselves,” said the midfielder. “It’s a cliché I know but that’s the case. We are working hard every day and trying to improve.

“We lost two on the spin there so it’s nice to get a point and go again next week.

“I’m positive. We have good players and I’m more than confident we will get away from the bottom two places.

“We have to prove that on the pitch. It’s okay saying we have the players and this and that, but we have got to do on a Saturday regularly. I think we are capable of doing that.”