Dan Casey says Motherwell are hurting from their defeat against Hearts, and looking to take that anger out on Aberdeen on Sunday.
A Musa Drammeh strike was enough to inflict a defeat on the Steelmen at Tynecastle on Thursday, leaving boss Stuart Kettlewell fuming.
Casey says it’s never nice to lose a game, but they’re looking to make amends when Aberdeen visit Fir Park.
The Irish defender said: “It was disappointing. We had a good result against Rangers, a good performance, and we were confident, going into the game, and we just, as a team, didn’t turn up.
“It was quite disappointing, because you can’t really leave games behind, especially in this league, it’s so tight, but we only started playing in the last 10 minutes.
“We’re all hurting downstairs, we want to get a reaction.
“We set out every game to put on a performance and hopefully get a result, and we didn’t do that, so I think we’re all hurting a bit and hopefully we can put that right, get a bit of fire in the belly, and see what happens on Sunday.”
A tough festive period continues, with Motherwell travelling to Kilmarnock next Wednesday before a trip to face Hibs at Easter Road the following weekend.
While Casey admits that doesn’t provide as much time to analyse opponents, they would much rather have games.
He said: “It’s a hard period, but everyone in the league is doing it, it’s not just us. It’s part of the game and you need to get on with it.
“As a footballer you want to play matches. I think if you asked anyone downstairs or in most teams, they’d say they would rather play games than train.
“You don’t get as much time to see what the opponent does, but we play each other so many times in the league I think we know what every team’s about.
“It’s just really about getting ready, getting your body ready, and following whatever the gaffer has planned for Sunday, as best you can.”
Casey has been at Motherwell since joining from Sacramento Republic in 2023, and has enjoyed his time at Fir Park.
But he says there is a lot of work still to be done, for Motherwell to be in a good position.
He said: “This has been a good year. We got to a cup semi-final, we’ve done well in the league, but it’s half-way through a season so nothing’s been done yet.
“I think if we kick on now for the next few games it will set us up nicely coming into the end of the season.
“Hopefully we can push into that top six, but we’re fully focused on Aberdeen now, and that’s all that matters.”