Keep up the good work, Motherwell boss Graham Alexander tells his players ahead of 'tough challenge' posed by Rangers

He’s also calling on his team to keep up that good work, though he concedes the table-topping Glasgow giants will present another “tough challenge” this coming Sunday.

Reflecting on Saturday’s 2-0 Premiership win against the Dons, the 49-year-old told the Steelmen’s website: “It was a tough game.

“I’m delighted with the three points because they’re tough opponents.

“You can see the quality they have and they move the ball well and they’ve got some real good threats.

“I thought our players had great discipline about their shape, about when to press and when not to.

“We were hard to penetrate at times. We defended our box really well and we scored two fantastic goals, the cross and the header for the first one and for the second one as they were pretty identical from either side.

“They were impressive finishes and we’ve got another clean sheet so we’re delighted because we had to work exceptionally hard to achieve it, which we know, but our players are willing to put that work in.

“Our training sessions are always intense because you have to play with intensity and the players are capable of it. We’re still short of where we need to be, but it will come with time, and while that time is ticking on, you need to pick up points and win games.

“We’re delighted with the players because they deserve it. They work exceptionally hard on the training pitch. They’re together, they’re a unit and I thought, together with the supporters, we made it a brilliant atmosphere.”

Alexander was also delighted by how the home supporters among the 5,600-plus crowd present cheered his side on to victory and stayed on afterwards to express their appreciation.

“I thought our performance and the supporters’ backing was great to see and feel,” he said.

“We felt it on the sidelines, so the players are buzzing and I’m sure everyone else is.

“When you see it in tandem, the team and supporters working together, it’s a great feeling to have, but we know how hard we have toTurn to page 31

work to maintain that and to keep it going.

“We’re not going to be walking around patting ourselves on the back this week. It’s not the way we want to be.

“We know we’ve got another tough challenge next week, as we will have every game this season.”