There is a double edged sword to playing well: you gets scouts sniffing around your best players

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Tom Hateley admits it is inevitable that teams will be interested in teammate Jamie Murphy and says his loss would be a big one to Motherwell. Murphy's contract runs till the end of the season and has been linked with a move to Rangers. Full-back Hateley would love to see the Fir Park side hang onto the striker but expects his team-mate to be in demand. Speaking ahead of tonight's away game against Dundee United, he said: "He's a top player for us and has been for a number of years now. He's coming towards the end of his contract and he's going to attract attention, whether it's from Rangers or down south or wherever. It's pretty inevitable that people will be interested in him. He's been at the top of his game and it would be a massive blow for us but it's just part and parcel of football. If the club can keep hold of him, I'm sure they will do their best to do that."
 
MotherwellMeanwhile, Dundee United captain Jon Daly hopes a win over Motherwell can help build momentum for the busy Christmas period. A home win for the Tannadice side will see them climb above 'Well in the SPL table. Daly said: "It's always a good game and a tough game when we play Motherwell. We've got two fairly similar squads; two good sides. It's normally a good game of football and hopefully we can come out on top. It's getting towards a busy schedule coming up to Christmas now. It's a good time to start putting a bit of a run together, starting winning games. If we can get ahead of them now, with the game in-hand as well, it will be important for us to kick on coming up to Christmas."
 
United won 1-0 when the sides met earlier this month, but will go into the game without Gary Mackay-Steven, who suffered a fractured hand in the 2-1 win at Ross County on Saturday. The winger had only recently returned from knee surgery. Daly added: "He's a big player. I'm more gutted for him. He's been out for 10 weeks, got himself back and now he's going to be out for another four to six weeks. It's unfortunate. He loves to play and it's frustrating for him. Hopefully he's back pretty sharp. He's done enough when he's played to have people watching him and rightly so, he's a fantastic player. I don't think it will be too long until he does get people sniffing about. But he's under contract at the club and it's obviously got to be the right bid for the club to accept."