Stuart McCall is hoping his phone stays silent in the lead up to the closure of the transfer window. He is keen to retain all his Motherwell players following the 4-2 away win over Dunfermline. Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey were on target as Motherwell looked to be cruising to a big win when they took a 3-0 lead before the hour mark, before two deflected goals gave Dunfermline brief hope. The attacking duo are the most likely to attract interest but McCall is looking to add to his squad rather than lose anybody before Wednesday. Former Bradford winger Omar Daley is awaiting a visa in order to join up with Motherwell in the next few days. McCall said: "We've had no enquiries. You never know what's in the wings but I would be hopeful we would have the same group to Christmas anyway and it gives us a little chance, not to solidify where we are because we are never going to be top of the league, but to keep our good run going and hopefully keep us in the top six. That's what our aim was at the beginning of the season, we have got to keep on getting results to keep us up there. Top of the league is nice for supporters and the players might get a little more bonus money, but it was just an important win for us because we have got Dunfermline squeezed between the Old Firm games. We go to Parkhead and that is obviously a very, very difficult place to get anything so it was important that we got something and, being three points, I'm delighted."
McCall was also happy to see Michael Higdon claim two goals after getting off the mark in the 4-0 Scottish Communities League Cup win at Clyde. Higdon opened and closed the scoring on Saturday. He curled home his first in the 11th-minute after a well-worked move and tapped home Nicky Law's cross to complete the scoring in the last minute. McCall said: "I said after the St Mirren game that the front three weren't firing but when we looked back at the tape, Michael has had two really good efforts, the keeper has made saves. He has been effective, he has set up a couple of people. Just because he hasn't scored, he was still contributing to the team. We decided to play him against Clyde to hopefully get a goal and it would kick him on. Thankfully that seems to have worked. I'm really pleased for him, that's what we brought him here for."
Motherwell were completely dominant in the first half, with Murphy's deflected strike putting them two ahead in the 26th minute. Humphrey added an impressive solo effort in the 55th minute and McCall admitted his team became sloppy as the Pars forced their way back in the game. But the home side benefited from some luck when Joe Cardle inadvertently diverted David Graham's long-range shot past Darren Randolph in the 69th minute, before netting a deflected effort himself on an 88th-minute break. Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre admitted his team got a "chasing" in the first half but was able to look at the bigger picture after his side's unbeaten start to the SPL season came to an end. McIntyre said : "We have done exceptionally well in the first four games but that doesn't mean to say it's going to happen every week. The players have been magnificent so far and we will have days like this. It's just important we bounce back when we do." McIntyre has added to his squad with the capture of former Dundee United midfielder Craig Easton. He said: "We feel we need another midfielder and Craig fit the bill. He has great energy, gets up and down the park and he has a goal in him. He will complement the good players we have. One performance doesn't make us a bad side. Let's remember it's a very good Motherwell side who got to the cup final last season. We will not be despondent."