Devante Cole is determined to fend off competition for a starting slot at Livingston this weekend after marking his Motherwell return with a debut goal.
The striker, who was on loan at Fir Park last season from Wigan, signed a permanent deal with the Steelmen earlier this month to add to Stephen Robinson’s vast array of attacking options.
Cole started Saturday’s 4-0 win over Ross County and bagged the final goal of the game to get off to a perfect start on his second spell in North Lanarkshire. But with seven stars all vying for a slot up front against the Lions in Robinson’s tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation, Cole won’t rest on his laurels now he is back in claret and amber after a lengthy layoff during the pandemic.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s happy days. It’s always good to get a goal and I’ve not played in eight or nine months, so I’m happy with that good start.
“I’ve not played since before lockdown and with everything that’s going on in the world at the moment, it’s nice to be back.
“Being out for a while, there is still a few things that I’m not happy about with my game but I think showing some sharpness in that first game back, I hope I can do even better in the next game.
“It’s a case of me playing well, keeping my space and making sure nobody can take it off me.
“That’s it. It’s up to someone else to come and take it off me, but if I can play well hopefully I can stay in the team.”
The Steelmen now head to Livingston hoping to build on their impressive display against County. It was their first game in almost a month after their games with Kilmarnock and St Mirren were postponed due to their opponents returning positive Covid-19 tests.
Motherwell, whose clash with County went ahead after a Fir Park player tested positive, found Tony Watt in inspired form and Callum Lang also got among the goals after replacing Chris Long.
After a barren spell early in the season, the strikers have found their shooting boots and Cole reckons the wealth of competition is finally paying off as they bid to hit the heights they reached last season with a third place finish in the Premiership.
He added: “I think competition is always healthy and all we want to do is push each other on.
”You always push to do well or better when you’ve had a good season, so it’s a case of making sure we put in performances in the next game.”
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