Connor Shields joked that Motherwell star Kevin van Veen took it personally when boss Stevie Hammell demanded more from his forwards ahead of their 5-0 win at Ross County on Tuesday.
The Dutchman responded by bagging a hat-trick in Dingwall, adding to strikes by Callum Slattery and Joe Efford - and Shields says he’ll try to get a similar reaction from the striker ahead of Saturday’s Premiership clash against Hibs at Easter Road.
That rocketed the Steelmen up to sixth in the table, and Shields said: “The win has given us a massive boost.
“We spoke during the week before Ross County that we had to take more chances, and I think Kev might have taken offence to it and decided to score a hat-trick!
“I’ll maybe try and wind him up today and hopefully he does it again tomorrow.
“Not just Kev, but forwards, midfielders, defenders, we all have to contribute.”
Shields, 25, has yet to hit the back of the net this season and hopes that changes in Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon, as Motherwell take back-to-back wins back to Lanarkshire.
He said: “It would be massive, for personal confidence, but also to help the team as well.
“As a forward you want to be contributing as much as you can, so that would be good for the team, but personally it would be a good confidence boost.
“It is a situation where I can take frustration out on Hibs, but you try not to think about it too much, because then it can impact on other parts of the game.
“It can take away some frustration, but the team comes first and putting a performance in that helps the team is first and foremost.
“It would be back-to-back wins, against two good teams, and both away – that would be really good and then we come back here after that.
“Two away wins would be great, leading into a home game.”
Shields says the thumping win in the Highlands came at a time when Motherwell were playing well and not getting their rewards, and admits it is a major boost.
“We’re in a good place,” he said. “I think it was probably coming, to be fair, because we were playing well and just weren’t taking our chances.
“We spoke as a team about what we had to do and Tuesday worked out well, we took most of the chances that we got.
“Maybe apart from the Celtic game when we didn’t play the way we wanted, we have played well but just didn’t take the chances that we created.
“We sat down and spoke about it together, as a team, and it paid off.
“I think the gaffer will be expecting even more, so hopefully we can take what we did on Tuesday into Saturday and hopefully for the rest of the season.”
On his own goal drought, Shields said: “It’s been frustrating at times, because as a forward you want to be scoring, assisting, and that will come, but for now it’s more important that the team are winning, and take it from there.
“Hopefully it will come tomorrow, and when the first one goes in, hopefully more can follow.
“The team comes first. If you’re playing well and the team’s winning, that’s ultimately the goal, and if you’re confident that’s even better, but the team will come first and hopefully we can get a good result tomorrow.
“It will be a tough game, they’re a good team, they’ve done well so far this season so it will be a good one for the neutral.
“Hopefully we can take what we did on Tuesday into Saturday and hopefully win.”
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