A STAUNCH ­defence of the SPFL Premiership has been launched by Lionel Ainsworth.

The Motherwell wing king has sparkled since his loan move to Fir Park from English League One side Rotherham last summer and had his sojourn in Lanarkshire extended by Well boss Stuart McCall until the end of the season ­after a blistering spell of four goals in four games running into the festive season.

The 26-year-old has been a pro for eight years starting with English Championship perennials Derby and including Watford, Huddersfield and Bournemouth.

But the Fir Park flyer reckons he has seen enough during his six months north of the border to underline that the Scottish game is on the up.

Ainsworth also strongly rebutted the idea our domestic game is seen as sub-standard south of the border.

He said: "I have been really impressed with the standard of the football in the SPFL Premiership since I came to Motherwell. I know the Scottish game has its knockers but I am certainly not one of them.

"The majority of the teams in the Scottish Premiership try to play the passing game and that is even when the surface isn't the best.

"So there is a real desire to get the ball down and play and that really struck me within the first month or so of my time with Motherwell.

He added: "I don't see any difference in terms of quality between the Scottish Premiership and the English Championship.

"From what I've seen, although the league is smaller in terms of the number of teams, there is plenty of good football played in the Scottish top flight."

Ainsworth also points out there are more and more English pros re-locating north while several big Scottish names have also come home.

The Fir Park ace said: "James McFadden has come back north with us and he was a ­Premiership fixture for long enough down south. At Celtic you look at the way Kris Commons is playing, after coming up the road from my old club Derby.

"He has set the league alight this season and must be the big favourite for the Player of the Year awards.

"We played Aberdeen last weekend and it struck me just how many players on both sides had played down south.

" For Aberdeen you had Russell Anderson and Mark Reynolds, and Adam Rooney has just returned north after spells with Birmingham, Oldham and Swindon.

"From our team most of the side have played down south - Stephen ­McManus at ­Middlesbrough, Keith Lasley at Plymouth and Gunnar Nielsen at Blackburn and Man City, to name but three, so there is plenty of quality here."

With Well out of the Scottish Cup and the League Cup disappointingly early, Ainsworth has a couple of free weekends ahead and may head south for a spell.

But when he goes home the Well star doesn't expect to hear any brickbats about his new working environment.

He said: "There is plenty of respect for the Scottish game in all the leagues I have played in and more and more English players see the SPFL Premiership as an attractive option. I certainly don't have anything but good to say about it."