JOHN SUTTON reckons having lofty expectations placed upon Motherwell last summer may have contributed to their disastrous season.

The Steelmen came into the campaign having finished second, while also being drawn against Icelandic minnows Stjarnan in the Europa League qualifiers.

It led to high hopes that the Fir Park club could kick on again under Stuart McCall.

However, any dreams for this campaign soon turned into a nightmare with defeat to Stjarnan, the manager resigning in November before Motherwell were condemned to a relegation play-off against Rangers this month.

Well striker Sutton thinks the added pressure of being expected to flourish could have hampered their cause.

"It's just not been good enough all season," he said.

"I think most of the campaigns I've been here we have been written off and there has been a real desire among the boys to prove people wrong.

"We were tipped to do quite well, so I don't know if that maybe has had some mental impact.

"The performances haven't been up to the mark and 95 per cent of the time we haven't deserved to take points out of games.

"But we have one final chance to put things right."

It's unclear if Sutton will be picked in attack for Motherwell at Ibrox tomorrow or if Lee Erwin will be given the nod along with Scott McDonald.

Regardless of who plays, the Englishman knows it will take a monumental effort from all involved to escape the relegation trapdoor.

He said: "The expectation at start of the season is that you at least want to match the year before when you finished second and you also want to be challenging for cups.

"Now, at this stage, it would be an unbelievable achievement to survive. I think Motherwell have been in the league for 30 years, so it would be very, very sad if that came to an end."