Paul McGinn declares fitness status after Motherwell injury as teammates issued reminder ahead of Hibs

Paul McGinn insists he’s feeling good and raring to get into the trenches after playing some more Motherwell minutes in a gritty draw with Kilmarnock.

The club captain made his return from an injury sustained in October during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen. He played more minutes at Rugby Park as the Fir Park side grinded out a stalemate against a Killie side who passed up multiple chances to put themselves ahead in the game.

Tony Watt and Stephen O’Donnell had openings for Motherwell but it was the defensive unit that proved key to digging out a point. The skipper knows performance levels have to go up ahead of facing former club Hibs this weekend. McGinn said: “Like everyone will tell you, we weren't playing well.

“So you just need to come in and try and not even steady the ship, just show a bit of composure. I felt I brought that a bit to the game and we grew into it a bit more. But we definitely need to be a lot better than that on Saturday if we want to pick up any points. We can’t play like that and expect to get points most of the time.”

Now back in the fold, the 34-year-old says he’s feeling good and will be ready for whatever manager Stuart Kettlewell needs of him. McGinn explained: “It's been a long time. Just frustrating having to watch, but it’s a bit better when the boys are doing well. When they're struggling, you just want to be in the trenches with them and helping. Thankfully, most of the time we've done well, but it just feels good to be a footballer again.

“I was just taking a shot. Maybe that's my sign that I'm an out-and-out defender. I've not to take shots. I’ve played a lot of games over the years and maybe you are just due one every so often. Hopefully that's my one for the next few years, because normally I don't get many. Even historically when I've played at teams, I've been quite lucky that if I've had an injury I've gone back in pretty quick.

“I had to learn a bit of patience and that's just the way it is. I know it's nobody's fault, apart from maybe my own body, but yeah, just glad to be back out there. I felt pretty good there. I like to think I keep myself in decent shape. A lot of times, centre-half is about being sharp and reading the game. I felt good and I'll always be ready to go.”

Kettlewell knows his side weren’t at their best but he was pleased to have taken some reward from a game where they didn’t hit optimum levels. He said of the draw: "It was an uncomfortable watch. Kilmarnock were the better team. They created better chances, got the ball into the wide areas and we seemed to sit off them.

"We looked unsure of ourselves, and I'm not going to sit here and say that we played well. We had to rely on our goalkeeper and I thought he was sensational. We've shown a lot of character to come away with a hard-earned point. I never doubt their character or spirit, and they had to show plenty of that to come away from here with a point."