Rangers and Celtic warned there's a new title threat on horizon as Hearts not all Old Firm should be worried about
A rival player has set his sights on catching the three Premiership clubs currently in the title equation
In what is developing into one of the most exciting Scottish Premiership title races for decades, Celtic, Rangers and Hearts have been warned by a rival player exactly why his club should be spoken about as potential title contenders.
It has been a season to remember in the league for Motherwell fans so far and summer signing Elijah Just is adamant they are the best footballing side in the top-flight as he sent out a bullish message to the three clubs currently above them in the table.
The fourth-placed Steelmen are 10 points off the pacesetting Jambos with a game in hand to play, but they are now only four adrift of Celtic and six behind Rangers, who have played a game more after Saturday’s thumping 5-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley.
For New Zealander Just, who put the Lanarkshire men on the road to victory against the Buddies, the gap isn’t insurmountable as he set his sights on catching the teams in question.
Why Motherwell should be taken seriously in Scottish Premiership title race
With the title race expected to go right down to the wire, Jens Berthel Askou’s men are the form team with only one defeat in their last 19 league games. They host Dundee United this weekend and Just believes pundits should now be taking the Fir Park outfit more seriously, insisting it’s a four-way race rather than a three-horse sprint to the finish.
Follow our GlasgowWorld - Celtic Facebook page to get all the latest news stories on the Hoops
Asked if he believed Motherwell could catch the teams above them, the midfielder declared: “Of course, I do. At the moment, the difficult part is, every week in the league when we win, they also win.
“It’s going to come down to a few big games. Before then, we have to make sure that we beat Dundee United and continue to put in top performances. We are just looking one game at a time, making sure our standards are high. I don’t know the pressure they’re feeling in their squads.
“The way we played against Aberdeen - and the disappointment that people had [in a 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat last midweek] would probably indicate that there is pressure on us.
“People expect now, at this point in the season, that we win games. Maybe we have a little bit less pressure because we are the ones chasing. But in those big games we will feel pressure - because we think we’re a top team and that we can win those games.”
Motherwell are improving with every game, claims Just
Motherwell have earned plenty of plaudits for their style of play this term under the Scandinavian boss and have been mixing it with the top three throughout the campaign without ever being viewed as serious title challengers.
However, Just reckons they are only getting better with each passing week, adding: “I’d say we are playing our best football now. As the season is going on, we’re just getting better and better. We were a relatively new group in the summer - new manager, a few new players, new style compared to previous seasons.
“In the beginning of the year, there were a lot of signs that we could be a really good team. But something wasn’t quite clicking. Those early games, we drew quite a few and could’ve had more points.
“We’ve been able to look back and kind of figure out why we weren’t winning them. We’ve worked on what those issues were. And then we’ve used that as a way to improve.
“Even though this win was a good performance, there are still plenty of things to improve on. We are still a hungry team that’s looking to get better. In every training, there is an emphasis on improvement, making mistakes, developing these relationships.”