John McGlynn believes his side’s ability to “stifle” Motherwell was critical to their victory over the Steelmen, as The Bairns look to leapfrog Hibs next weekend in the race for Europe.

Speaking at full-time of their 1-0 win, McGlynn praised his team’s workrate, as they picked up a vital three points.

“The boys gave everything, had to work their socks off.

“Everyone knows how good a team Motherwell are but we’ve managed to stifle them a little bit nearly every time we’ve played them bar the first half of the first game.

“The first half, the intensity, the pace of the game was ridiculous. We had to defend well, Nicky had one really good save on the first half and I think on another day Barney gets himself a hattrick, maybe it’s just a little dip in confidence.

“We managed to defend well as a team, we defended the box and we were a threat throughout the game. I’m delighted for the players, they put so much work into that.”

In the other dugout, Jens Berthel Askou believed a lack of clear-cut opportunities proved one of the decisive factors in Motherwell’s defeat.

“Disappointed about the outcome, disappointed about some of the moments in the performance. “I think it was an extremely open game in the first half, maybe more open than either team would have wanted.

“It gave us all the moments and opportunities for our attacking players to create big chances and score goals we could have wished for but it also gave them too much.

Neither team was able to produce enough quality until they finally scored then I think we took control for most of the game in the second.

“We had our moments and opportunities but not enough big ones. The intent to really try and take control of the game, especially in the second half, was there. We did our best but our best just wasn’t good enough today.”

Motherwell sit comfortably in fourth, but would perhaps rather not give their European rivals any further encouragement, as the Scottish Premiership reaches its climax in the coming weeks.