MOTHERWELL full-back Richard Tait reckons he wouldn’t want to meet a few of his hulking teammates in a dark alley, let alone faced them up on the opposite side of a tunnel waiting to go out onto the pitch.

That’s why he is glad that he is on the same side as the likes of Conor Sammon, Curtis Main and Ryan Bowman as the Steelmen look to emulate, and perhaps better, the success they enjoyed last season.

While Tait believes there is much more to Motherwell than brute physical strength, he concedes that it doesn’t hurt their cause if they can psyche out their opponents before the match has even begun.

“I’m pretty sure if you look across at our team in the tunnel, then it’s a pretty intimidating sight,” said Tait.

“You’ve got big Conor, Bowie, Maino – who isn’t the tallest, but he’s a tank – so there is a lot of presence in our team.

“That’s not just up the front of the pitch, but at the back as well. There’s myself, big Cedric [Kipre], Dunney [Charles Dunne], Peter Hartley, so there are a lot of boys in the team who are big strong boys.

“They’ve got a lot more in the locker than that, but there are times I’ve actually thought that I wouldn’t want to meet a few of the lads in a dark alley, so I’m glad I’m in their team and we’re fighting for the same thing.”

The newest heavy artillery to be added to the Fir Park armoury, Conor Sammon, got himself off the mark with a superbly-taken double against Queen of the South on Tuesday night.

His deftness of his touch and fleetness of foot may have surprised some, but not Tait, who has had tough afternoons against the on-loan Hearts man in the past.

“I was delighted for him that he scored, and he took the finishes really well, so for him that’s excellent and from a team perspective it is great as well,” he said.

“The manager has got a few options up top, so the boys in those positions will definitely be fighting it out to try and start the games, especially come next week.

“Conor’s goals won’t have done him any harm. People always look at him and the stature of the guy and think he’s just a big, strong lump up top, but you don’t have the career that he’s had if you’re not a good footballer.

“He’s shown that in his finishes and the way he took the goals, but also in his link-up play and holding the ball up and his little deft touches.

“When you play it into his feet you get it back off him, so he showed what he was about the other night and hopefully that continues.

“I remember playing against him when he was out on the left at Kilmarnock, and it was a tough game.

“He is a big, strong guy, even though he has a lot more in his locker. He is a lot faster than you think he is, so I’m glad he’s in my team and I don’t have to face him.”

Motherwell travel to Broadwood this afternoon needing a victory over Clyde to top their Betfred Cup group ahead of Queen of the South, and Tait is taking nothing for granted against their League Two opponents.

“We got half the job done on Tuesday, and now we’ll go to Clyde and try to get the job done,” he said.

“Everyone is still trying to get fit and we’re probably not at 100%, we’re still getting our eye back in in terms of playing, so there is a danger that you can slip up.

“We did that at Stranraer, but I think we responded well and have shown that we definitely learned from it.

“I think that having a good group stage and a good cup run last year led us into having a decent season.

“It was a very important, and hopefully we can get the job done on Saturday and take that into the league.”