Motherwell manager Graham Alexander says the Steelmen still hold belief they can obtain a top six place and push on for Europe.
Despite having not won in the Premiership since December 26th - a 10-game run - they remain one point off fourth ahead of facing St Johnstone this Saturday.
Another blow was felt last weekend as they exited the Scottish Cup at the quarter-final stage due to a 2-1 defeat against Hibs. Bevis Mugabi was sent off inside a minute.
While Alexander acknowledges that things have to improve if they are to have a successful season, he believes the turning point isn't far away. They take on St Johnstone, St Mirren and Livingston pre-split.
The 'Well boss said: “We have three opportunities to get as many points as possible. We know we have been right on the verge of taking those points.
“We understand that we need to improve at both ends of the pitch but the belief is still there without a shadow of a doubt.
“You could see that (last week), it would have been easy to capitulate and give up but not once did that cross the players’ minds.
“You could see that from the performance. The supporters aren’t stupid and they stayed behind to give credit to the performance and the effort the players put in.
“We know with 11 men we could have had the performance we wanted and that has got to be the target tomorrow."
Even though they are in a bad patch, the Motherwell boss says his team are remaining upbeat, and not down in the dumps over their form.
Alexander added: “We like to be in a positive and optimistic mood at all times. We understand the challenges of football and understand that we are not always going to win games but our effort and commitment has got to be there.
“We can pinpoint things we have done to not win a game so we can improve that and try to act upon that but we don’t come in the following week after a negative result all doom and gloom.
"We always look ahead to the next opportunity and plan for that. We can’t look ahead at any games coming up, it’s got to be tomorrow’s game.
"We know if we play well enough we have the opportunity to win three points but we know every game in this division is tough and we expect that tomorrow.”
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