Stephen O'Donnell gets flashbacks of Scotland ace from Motherwell teammate as he senses where team can improve

He didn’t quite know where to turn after scoring - but Motherwell vice-captain Stephen O’Donnell insists it was just nice to beat Craig Gordon for once.

The right-back continued his fine start to the season with a goal during Sunday’s impressive 3-1 win over Hearts in the Premiership. It adds to positive feeling around Fir Park, with the difficulty of an injury-hit pre-season alleviated with Premier Sports Cup progression and a first league win this campaign.

O’Donnell himself has been in impressive form, with a goal just reward for another strong performance. Having come up against Hearts keeper Craig Gordon plenty of times in Scotland training, it was pleasing for the 32-year-old to finally get past him.

He said: "I ran one way, then thought, 'My family's actually the other way, I should maybe try to give them a smile! My immediate reaction was just, 'Nice to get a goal, nice to get one past Craig at last'.

"I think I had 400 shots at him in training when we were with Scotland and I don't think I ever scored! He's a hard man to beat and thankfully I was able to."

Lennon Miller brought in his 18th birthday by teeing up O’Donnell and captain Paul McGinn for their headers with pinpoint free-kicks. The right-back is reminded of Scotland star Billy Gilmour when it comes to the want for the ball, with a hope they can retain the star as long as possible.

O’Donnell explained: "Whenever Lennon gets the ball, I'm licking my lips. Even last year we spent a lot of time on free-kicks. We worked hard on them. The gaffer's pretty thorough along with Stevie Frail and the rest of the coaching staff.

"We try to be good at them both defensively and offensively. Last season we conceded a few more than we scored. Hopefully with the delivery being good and the runs being positive we can keep capitalising and keep being solid at the back. Lennon's got awareness, quality. Turning 18, that's pretty frightening, how good he is. I'm sure he'll have a very good future ahead and hopefully we can hold on to him as long as we can.

"It also shows you his mentality. He had a couple of slack passes, but he still steps over the ball and puts in quality deliveries time and again and still wants the ball. I think that's one of his biggest characteristics. No matter what happens, he wants it. He's showing character that's far beyond his age.

"I haven't really played with many boys his age who have that, maybe Billy Gilmour when he first came in to the Scotland squad, how he always wants the ball. They're quite quiet, but when you go out on the park it means nothing. They just want the ball. They don't care who is there, they are really confident. That's similar to how I'd see Lennon."

With players to come back from injury, O’Donnell senses things will only improve at Fir Park. He added: "There's still lots of room for improvement. There's still time for people who have just come in to settle. We should get better.

"Even Tony Watt, he's obviously been here before but he's working with a new manager, new set up, new requirements to play. I'm looking forward to when we have plenty of training sessions under our belt. When boys come back from injuries there will be lots of competition and that can be a really big positive. You'll need to make sure you perform well to stay in the team."