IT did not take long for Stephen McManus to clock on to the talents of Big Ben Heneghan.

The 23-year-old centre-half joined Motherwell in the summer as a replacement for Ben Hall, who slotted in next to McManus for most of the last campaign.

Despite his lack of top-flight experience, the former Chester man’s arrival at the start of the season saw him form a quick partnership with the former Scotland centre-half.

Having come through the ranks at Everton, before testing himself in the rough and tumble world of non-league football in England, McManus believes this perfect combination is the reason for Heneghan hitting the ground running in what has been a promising start to his Motherwell career.

“He’s come in and done well,” he said. “Ben’s been educated in the game. He was at Everton as a kid. If you are at a club like that as a kid, it's because you have technique and a chance.

“He’s then been schooled by playing non-league football which has really toughened him up and that gives him a real opportunity.

“He’s a great type with a great attitude. He wants to come in and learn. He works really hard on his game.

“Ben has come in along with Richard Tait, Craig Clay and been terrific. The signings have been brilliant this year."

The transformation in Motherwell over the last 12 months is significant. It was a year ago to this day that Morton beat the Steelmen 3-2 in the League Cup, a defeat that would see Ian Baraclough lose his job as manager the following morning.

Now under the guidance of Mark McGhee, Well are hoping to build once more.

As well as Heneghan, the Scotland assistant coach has also brought in the likes of Craig Clay, Richard Tait, Lee Lucas and Jacob Blyth to strengthen his team. While these signings have added depth, McManus is sure they have also brought quality to the Lanarkshire outfit.

He said: “We have competition for places. You need that to have a healthy squad.

“The manager has used the budget wisely. We are looking a lot better this year compared to how we were a season ago, there’s a good balance to the group.

“Louis Moult makes a difference because if you have a goalscorer in your team you always have the chance to win games.”

That theory was underlined spectacularly last weekend when the former Wrexham hitman banged in four goals against rivals Hamilton in a 4-2 victory.

Taking his tally for the season to seven, Moult also helped keep Motherwell’s unbeaten run going to three games and earned three points that McGhee hopes will kick start their league campaign.

McManus was simply happy to gain the points against their Lanarkshire rivals, a fixture which has proven tricky for Motherwell over recent years.

“It was a strange game. I didn’t think we were ever in any doubt we were going to lose the game when we went in front, but it could have been 7-5 or 9-7 in the end.

“It was a good result. Hamilton are always a difficult side to play against. They have good players like Ali Crawford, he is always going to be a threat and he proved that again.”