KEITH LASLEY hopes Motherwell can silence former Lanarkshire loud mouth Richie Foran when the Irishman brings Inverness to Fir Park on Saturday.

The Dubliner spent three years in claret and amber from 2004 and 2007 where he became a fan favourite under Terry Butcher. It was back then that Lasley first got to know the forward as a talented player but also an outspoken and opinionated member of the Motherwell dressing room.

As a result of his contributions over 10 years ago he is still held in high regard by many of the Motherwell supporters but, with Inverness sitting bottom of the Premiership just five points behind Motherwell, his old team-mate knows the importance of keeping the under-fire 36-year-old and his team quiet.

“Richie was a team-mate and a good player for Motherwell, wholehearted and great goal record," said Lasley of Foran, who grabbed 35 goals for the Lanarkshire club. "I know the fans have a good affinity with him but that won’t be the case for 90 minutes on Saturday.

“He’s well thought of at Fir Park and rightly so. But he wants the best for Inverness now and we want the best for Motherwell. He’ll have his team up for it because that’s the kind of character he is and he’ll see this as a chance for them to get right back in it.

“You could seen in his character he had leadership qualities. He had very strong opinions and you need that if you’re going to be a manager. You can never say for sure someone will be a manager but he displayed some of the things needed.

“As a player he was blunt - I was on the end of some of those opinions at half time! You could see it the way he played the game, he was very aggressive in his approach but in the right way and that’s how he is managing.

“I’m not saying he was ranting and raving every half time but when he had an opinion to give he gave it. That was one of his biggest attributes. He was very assertive but I just hope we can curtail his team.

“You need to be very resilient as a manager and be able to make decisions and he can do that. Players respect that honesty. There are times you need to hold back the truth in certain situations but more often than not honesty is the way forward and Richie played with real honesty.

“They’re all big games at this stage - and seem to be getting bigger every week. We’re at home against the team directly below us so it goes without saying it’s a massive game in terms of points and psychologically going into the last five after the split."

Lasley was speaking as the SPFL Trusted Trophy Tour hit Fir Park. For more information go to www.trustedtrophytour.co.uk