Well can thrive without 'fantastic' Watt, says Fadinger

Lukas Fadinger is convinced Motherwell have the squad strength to cope with the likely absence of his in-form midfield partner Elliot Watt.

Watt is being assessed after picking up an injury and looks set to miss Saturday's Premiership trip to face Hibs.

"He's been fantastic for the season as have many other players, but I think we already proved in the previous games that it doesn't really matter who is playing, we can perform with any squad or with any team," said Fadinger.

"We do a lot of tactical stuff during the training sessions and have a good, big squad.

"Everyone deserves to play and I think the most important thing is that our manager also gives us the confidence that everyone is needed and that everyone is strong enough to play.

"[He] pushes us every day and he's sometimes hard on us, but not too hard in a good way and he just wants us to be better every training, every game."

Fadinger admits he did not expect to be challenging at the top end of the table when he signed for the club in the summer.

The Austrian arrived days after previous manager Michael Wimmer departed and has become a fixture in the first team under Jens Berthel Askou during their rise to fourth place.

"We are happy to be in this position and we are pleased with the way we play," he added.

"We want to improve every day, every game. I think everyone has a lot of confidence, but it comes with hard work, with playing well.

"We want to be on our best and we need to be on our top level to compete against them."