ROSS FORBES today backed Motherwell's young guns to force their way into the first team at Fir Park under new boss Jim Gannon.
SPORTCAST: Llanelli embarrass Motherwell
Darryl Broadfoot, Michael Grant, Ronnie Cully and Matthew Lindsay discuss Motherwell's Europa Cup embarrassment.
ROSS FORBES today backed Motherwell's young guns to force their way into the first team at Fir Park under new boss Jim Gannon.
The Well gaffer has threatened to offload his side's experienced players after their Europa League humiliation at the hands of part-time Llanelli last night.
The Steelmen were beaten 1-0 by a team of Welsh minnows comprising electricians, plumbers and window cleaners at the Excelsior Stadium.
Mark McGhee's replacement will have only 10 senior players in his squad if full-back Paul Quinn completes his £300,000 transfer to Cardiff City.
However, the fuming former Stockport County manager has still vowed to offload some of them unless they show a drastic improvement in form soon.
And Forbes, a surprise inclusion in the Motherwell starting line-up at Airdrie, reckons Well's kids are ready to make the step up to the first-choice side.
He admitted: "I was a wee bit surprised that I was given the chance to start the match last night, but I enjoyed it and I felt that I did alright as well.
"I think the young boys, Stevie Saunders, Robert McHugh and Paul Slane, all acquitted themselves well in what was a big game for the club.
"The new manager has a definite idea of how he wants us to play. He is keen for us to get the ball down and pass it. He also looks as though he will give the young lads a chance.
"As is the case with any new manager, you have to impress him, show him what you can do to get a regular game. I think a few of us have done that.
"If anybody fails to impress the manager then there will be places up for grabs and there will be a few boys who will be trying their hardest to force their way into the picture."
The 20-year-old, who helped Dumbarton win the Irn-Bru Third Division title last season while on loan at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium, performed well against Llanelli. Indeed, Motherwell manager Gannon singled him, and fellow new boys McHugh, Saunders and Slane, out for special praise after a bitterly disappointing defeat on his debut.
The same was not true of all his players. Indeed, the coach appeared to blame skipper and centre-half Stephen Craigan for his team losing the only goal of the game.
Stuart Jones, an electrician to trade, headed home from close range at a corner after a rare foray upfield by the visitors to give them a vital away strike going into the second leg.
However, Forbes is refusing to rule out Motherwell's chances of beating Llanelli in Wales next Thursday to progress to the next round of the competition.
He said: "We had our chances against Llanelli, but never took them. Early on, in particular, we had opportunities to score and passed them up.
"If we had scored early on it could have been a different story. We would have settled down a bit. Hopefully we can do better next week. They put everybody they had behind the ball. It was the first time I had experienced that. It was difficult to play against. But we are pretty optimistic that we can turn things around.
"I got a bit of competitive first-team experience under my belt last season and I am confident if I get the nod then I will be able to do a good enough job for the team."
Meanwhile, Gannon, who admitted he was resigned to losing Quinn when he took over, has revealed his bid to land Stephen Jennings from Tranmere Rovers has fallen through after hitting a last-minute hitch.
Motherwell: Fraser, Saunders, Craigan, Reynolds, Hammell, O'Brien (McHugh 74), Lasley (Slane 46), Forbes, McGarry, Sutton, Murphy.
Subs: Kosiorowski, Smith, Fitzpatrick, Hutchinson, Page.
Llanelli: A Morris, Legg (Warlow 51), Howard, S Jones, Jarman (Thomas 16), Phillips, Mumford, Corbisiero, Venables, Griffiths, C Jones (Follows 65).
Subs: C Morris, Jenkins, Moses, John.
Referee: T Nieminen (Finland).
Attendance: 4,307.
