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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Euan Robertson

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander lavishes praise on Barry Maguire after impressive display

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander was effusive in praise for Barry Maguire after his performance in the win against Dundee United.

The 22 year-old played an integral role as the Steelmen recorded consecutive victories to move above Kilmarnock into ninth place.

After beating Ross County last week, Maguire revealed that Alexander instructed him to take set-pieces on both feet and the Motherwell boss explained that decision.

(SNS Group)

He said: "He's got all the attributes to be a top professional. We just watch him in training and he practises free-kicks with his right foot and left foot - he can play off both feet.

"It was a bit of a surprise to him last week when we put him on set-pieces on both sides, on both feet.

"I've got confidence in him, like I do all my players and if I see someone practising then they must have the ability to do it. It shows his quality that he's able to do that."

Although Liam Polworth returned from suspension against United, Alexander rewarded the 22 year-old for his excellent performance in Dingwall by handing Maguire a starting berth.

The Scotland Under-21 international was excellent once again in a combative midfield role as he demonstrated his impressive qualities.

Only Stephen O'Donnell (61) had more touches on the ball for Motherwell than Maguire(56) and he had the highest passing accuracy of the 'Well's three midfielders.

(SNS Group)

When the Arabs applied pressure in the second half, Maguire displayed his defensive capabilities by making two clearances and two interceptions to the delight of manager Alexander.

The 'Well boss said: "I thought he was exceptional. He's growing into a fully fledged first-team footballer because it's okay coming in for the odd game but it's about consistency across five, 10 or 15 games.

"I'm delighted for him because he's come into the team and we've won both games.

It's one of the attributes he's got {taking set-pieces} but I think he can also score goals off both feet and that's the next step for him."

(Ross MacDonald/SNS Group)

Alexander was without the services of captain Declan Gallagher and January signing Steven Lawless but the Motherwell boss provided an update on their injury situations.

He said: "Steven felt his knee in training after the game last week so he's had a scan and it's only going to be a couple of weeks.

"Dec's had a scan on a muscle injury and I think we will get that back in the morning and touch wood it doesn't seem too serious. Hopefully that will be pretty soon as well."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video

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