Motherwell star vows why he'll never throw toys out the pram as he details season of lessons at Fir Park

Johnny Koutroumbis insists he’s learned a lot in a frustrating campaign at Motherwell - but not once was he keen to feel sorry for himself.

The right-back joined from Perth Glory in Australia last summer, the first time he had ventured out of his home country’s top league. Injury hampered his start to life in claret and amber but selection has proven difficult after regaining fitness, overall playing just five times for 189 minutes.

70 of those were on his Fir Park debut, the last game before the split, a 0-0 draw with Hearts. Now in the bottom six, Koutroumbis admits the season has been an eye opening one for him on a personal note.

Motherwell lessons

He told the Motherwell Times: “In terms of injuries, I've probably had seasons where I've been out for longer due to them. But sitting on the side while being fit, no. And it definitely has taught me a lot of lessons. Don't get me wrong, this is a great league. And there's a lot of competition for positions, healthy competition, and there's a lot of good players at this club. To earn your spot within the team, you're not owed the spot. You have to work hard for it. And like I said, there are good players in my position that I compete with every day. And it's up to the manager to decide who's performing at their best each week.

“I would never think that I would want to be on the bench. I always want to be playing. It's never ideal when you're fit and just biding your time on the side of the pitch. You know, there's opportunities given to players. The opportunity given to me against Hearts, I thought that I needed to take it with both hands and that goes for every player. Whether you're injured or not, I think the easy way is to give up. And that's not in my character. So I've come a long way from home and I wouldn't want to just throw it all away just because things aren't going my way. So, no, I'm pleased and honoured to play for the home crowd for the first time.”

Preparing for a scrap

Now looking ahead to a game with St Johnstone this weekend as Motherwell look for victory that would go a long way to securing their safety in the Premiership, Koutroumbis insists the campaign is far from over. The post split fixtures will prove to be a fight, in his view.

He said: “It's not the end of the season for us. Absolutely not. I think each and every one of us would have gone into the Hearts game as if it were a cup final. Regardless of what St Mirren did, we still wanted to get the three points. Each and every one of us spoke before the game, throughout the week, that three points was a must. Unfortunately, things didn't work out like that.

“I think there were parts of the game where we sort of hesitated or probably thought about conceding a goal or something like that. We probably played within ourselves. But for the rest of the season though, I think we plan ahead like we do. Take each week as it comes and each game as it comes and prepare for what's to come. It's definitely going to be a scrap.”