He’s started hitting the net on a consistent basis – and Devante Cole says it’s down to his positional awareness in the Motherwell forward line.
The striker is the Fir Park club’s joint-top scorer this season, scoring five of his six Premiership goals this season since the arrival of Graham Alexander as manager in January. But his recent run of goals is down to his final third work, rather than a new manager bounce.
Cole explained: “I feel like there might be a few games where it doesn’t quite work and then it all clicks together, but I think since the manager has come in there has been a good few games where it has worked, compared to when it hasn’t.
“As a striker you just want to score goals. Me personally, that’s what I want to do, so I always try to put myself in the right position to do that. I wouldn’t even say it’s so much what the new manager has said or anything.
“It has always been what I’ve wanted to do on the pitch, score goals and be in a position to, so whoever I’ve played for I’ve always tried to put myself there.”
Alexander has a big squad to pick from at Fir Park, an estimated 40 players in total, but Cole isn’t thinking beyond this season just yet with his contract expiring in the summer.
He said: “I came in two months late so I missed a good bit [of the season] and it took a while to get to full fitness, but since I’ve been back playing in the team it has felt good. Tony Watt and Jordan Roberts are doing a good job beside me, and help me do well. But I just need to see what happens at the end of the season.”
Having secured an impressive 2-0 away win over Hibs last weekend, which moved Motherwell seven points clear of the Premiership relegation zone, Cole says he’s hoping the Steelmen can build on that against Livingston this afternoon at Fir Park.
He said: “As strikers you always want to try and play together, link up well together, and that’s what we did at the weekend, so hopefully we can continue that. The team has played well in the last two games and I think everybody’s happy with things. I can’t complain with things.
“With the team winning, coming off the back of the point we got in midweek – which we could have turned into a win – it put us in a good position. We need to make that count, on Saturday we need to build on it again with another three points, which would be even better.
“I think it’s very important to take that win into the Livingston game. I feel like if we play like we did and press high up like we did we have a good chance of getting the three points, so I think we just need to do that.
“Looking at the games you always just want to push on, look forward, do well in all the games and get as many points on the board as you can.”
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