FIVE is a number which holds little joy in the mind of Elliott Frear.
But the Motherwell winger is out to put that many points between his side and Dundee to banish the – dark – blues still lingering from the last time the sides met.
That came back in February when Paul Hartley's side battered their hosts 5-1 at Fir Park, a result which ultimately cost Mark McGhee his job as Motherwell manager.
Successive losses since then have plunged the Dens Park club into second bottom in the Ladbrokes Premiership, and Frear is determined to exorcise any ghosts which still remain by opening up a gap on Neil McCann's men in the race to beat the drop with just a handful of fixtures left.
"A game like that sticks with you for a long time, if I am being honest," said the former Exeter man. "All the lads in the changing room care a lot about the football club and the fans.
"It was difficult at the time. And it is always in the back of your mind to not let it happen again. It would be a huge step. We are targeting six points from our next two home games, so that is a massive incentive to get safe.
"Dundee have a new manager and we had that situation when Robbo came in. Sometimes it work, sometimes it doesn’t. It will give them a boost morale-wise, like it did for us. But it is still a bit of an unknown. Hopefully we can catch them off guard and start quick.
"The fact we could now go five points ahead of them after the last result between us sums up football, really. It’s a weird sport. Anything can happen.
"They did really well that day and we were poor all over the park. You wouldn’t have believed that we could have a chance to open up the gap we want now."
During his time at Forest Green Rovers, his last club before joining Motherwell in January, Frear suffered the agony of a play-off, losing twice at Wembley as they attempted to climb out of the National League. Now faced with the prospect of potentially experiencing a nail-biting relegation play-off, the 26-year-old is desperate to avoid a hat-trick, with Motherwell currently sitting tenth in the standings. "I have been involved in two play-offs and lost at Wembley twice. It’s not the best of feelings," he said.
"A relegation is a little bit different because there are a lot of livelihoods at stake. But when you are chasing promotion, going up can change everyone’s lives. The lads are more than confident of getting out of this situation.
"Personally, I feel I can learn from my past experiences. When you lose a game like a play-off, it ruins your summer. Hopefully I can end this season on a good note and avoid any kind of play-off altogether."
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