It was the time to put up. Now it’s time to shut up.

Motherwell midfielder Craig Clay acted as the good samaritan for former team-mate Louis Laing earlier this month as the former Sunderland defender was released on Deadline Day. Having come back from loan at Notts County just a few weeks earlier, Laing found himself crashing at Chateaux Clay before he finally made a new home for himself at Inverness under Richie Foran.

Since his flit up north, the 24-year-old was bold in a statement given last month when he declared his new club had better players than his previous employer and that there recent results had been ‘diabolical’. In the small world of Scottish football, it didn’t take long for this to get back, and it’s something Motherwell will be keen to make him regret when the pair meet at Fir Park this afternoon.

“He stayed with me for a week and a half or so,” explained Clay. “He came back on loan and he wasn’t sure what his future was. So instead of him paying for a hotel he crashed at mine for a bit.

“Did he pull his weight? He was alright. We weren’t cooking much but he was grateful for me putting him up. We just did the usual, put on a film or two and played FIFA. Now I need to get three points for real on Saturday.

“I saw his comments about the squad. He’s entitled to his opinion but I cant say I agree. I think we have class players at Motherwell. I wouldn’t say they have a better overall squad. But he can say what he wants. Whether that’s what he thinks or he is just saying that because he’s a bit disappointed about how his time here went.

“I’m sure he will say hellos to a few of the boys. He’s a nice boy and I’ve got nothing bad to say about him. But there will be no friends on the pitch.”

It’s a battle of the basement boys in Lanarkshire with Motherwell able to stretch their lead over the Premiership’s bottom markers if they can earn their first home win since November.

Clay added: “Any of the bottom six can get dragged into it so every game left is a cup final now. We have to stick to our game and try and get the three points on Saturday.

“Hopefully we can pull ourselves out of it. Hopefully we can get our fingers out and get out of this mess.”

Craig Clay was speaking at the SPFL Trusted Trophy Tour. For more info visit www.trustedtrophytour.co.uk