'Pressure makes diamonds': Charles-Cook says Motherwell can thrive amid growing expectations

Regan Charles-Cook is loving life at Motherwell and believes the side can thrive amid growing expectations created by their style of play under the leadership of Jens Berthel Askou.

The Fir Park side remain undefeated in the Premiership this season with five draws from their opening five games.

And despite the fact that they are still looking for their first league win of the campaign, they have received some plaudits for their easy-on-the-eye style.

Charles-Cook is excited to see what the rest of the season brings, and is eyeing a first trip to Hampden ahead of this weekend’s League Cup quarter-final against Aberdeen.

A win at Pittodrie will mean a place at the national stadium for the semi-finals and the former Ross County believes they can thrive under growing expectations.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, he said: “We are feeling good, it has been a very good week of training and we are ready to go. I’m getting fitter and feeling better, so we literally can’t wait.

“We’d love to go to Hampden. I’ve never been there personally.

“Last year, they got to the semi-final, so we are trying to create something even better this time. It would be a dream for me to play at Hampden.

“It’s every kid’s dream to win trophies and experience that feeling.

“We have some real belief, we are leaving every game a little bit disappointed that we haven’t won, because we should have taken the three points.

“The way we play, we have possession and create chances, we just need to tweak that little bit in the final third to finish off teams rather than letting them get back into the game.

“When you are leaving games after a draw thinking ‘we should have won that’, rather than ‘we’re lucky to get a point’ then that shows there is a lot of belief in what we are doing and with that comes big expectations.

“There is pressure, but that pressure makes diamonds. We all trust each other as individuals and are very close as a group so we trust each other out on the pitch as well, and it is a team game at the end of the day.”