STUART McCALL reckons his Motherwell team can only get stronger as the international break approaches.

The Fir Park manager has not had a full squad to choose from since the SPFL Premiership season got under way, with Paul Lawson, Simon Ramsden and Stevie Hammell yet to appear this month in a league match.

On top of not having three of his more senior players to call on, McCall has had to contend with missing Iain Vigurs, Zaine Francis-Angol and Lee Erwin for certain games, with the latter two missing Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Kilmarnock.

Loan signing Henrik Ojamaa was pitched in at Rugby Park for his first start since he returned from Legia Warsaw, and the Estonian showed some promise despite not having a full pre-season under his belt.

This weekend's game at home to St Johnstone will followed up by the international break, and McCall is confident the respite is coming at the right time for the striker and the rest of his Well team-mates to come back stronger and sharper.

The manager said: "We showed a lot more quality against Kilmarnock than we did the previous week against Inverness.

"We got into good areas and played some decent stuff, but just didn't have a finishing edge.

"Kilmarnock's pace, power and directness did cause us problems.

"Now we just need to knuckle down and get together. There were some aspects of the game that we did well in but we just couldn't find that goal.

"That's what we need - to get in front. Henrik got through on a couple of occasions against Killie.

"If he'd had a pre-season and another couple of weeks' fitness he would have gone through and got a shot on target.

"He's just lacking a bit of match sharpness. But he showed some decent touches and very good parts of his play. Henrik needs another couple of weeks and games to be at his top level.

"Added to the injured players we will be getting back soon, we can only get stronger."

While McCall is looking forward to welcoming back some key members of his squad in the near future, the Motherwell boss admits it is unlikely they will return in time to face Tommy Wright's Saints this Saturday.

With the suspension of central defender Fraser Kerr - after his red card last Saturday - Well fans are set to get their first glimpse this weekend of Derby County defender Mark O'Brien, who was brought in on loan earlier this month.

McCall added: "No, I wouldn't have thought we'd have our senior guys back for St Johnstone.

"We will look to see who we have available for this weekend, then we'll go into the international break and see where it takes us."