Motherwell midfielder Lee Lucas believes the exploits of his Welsh buddies on the international stage can help him make a name for himself in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The 24-year-old made his first start for the Steelmen in Saturday’s 4-1 rout of Ross County at Fir Park as Mark McGhee’s men ended a run of three successive defeats.

Lucas has endured a fairly wretched time of it himself in recent years as his promising career was stalled by a series of injuries.

A rising star at Swansea City, and an international cap for Wales at both under-17 and under-21 level, Lucas was left on the sidelines as colleagues like Ben Davies and Johnny Williams ended up competing in the European Championships for their country.

Having originally penned a short term deal with Motherwell in July, he was released from that contract not long after but another twist is his career tale saw him re-sign for the Lanarkshire outfit.

After showing what he has to offer in the four goal thumping at the weekend, Lucas is keen to make sure there are no more set-backs.

He said: “I got myself fit, I’ve been training hard and I was just waiting on my chance. Back in the summer there were a few things that needed to be sorted and I did think my opportunity at Motherwell had gone.

“I had a few other offers, both in Scotland and down south again but we got something firmed up here. I had the opportunity to stay and I was keen to grab it with both hands. I had got to know the lads well. I was training with them every day and I had already settled in. I was feeling part of the set up.

“It would have been a bit of a wrench to start that all over again with another club. If I had to go away again and start afresh, get to know new team-mates and a new environment then it would have been a bit of an upheaval. It was great to stay in the end.”

Lucas added: “I was in the Welsh set up with Johnny Williams and I played with Ben Davies at Swansea. It’s great inspiration to see what they have done. I’ve had a bad couple of years injury wise and that has knocked me back a bit.

“But it’s important for me now to kick on and try to progress as much as I can. When you see what these lads have achieved it’s give you that push. It’s a pretty good time to be a Welsh footballer. It’s on the map now.”

After helping Well get back to winning ways, Lucas is already setting his sights on another crucial encounter with a Dundee team who also got a much-needed victory at the weekend.

He said: “We put things right against County and it was a pleasure to be part of it. But we can’t afford to sit back on this.”