Motherwell didn't show potential, says Jennings

May 26 2011

STEVE Jennings this week shot down talk of Motherwell reaching the Scottish Cup Final being an achievement - because he didn't think they did themselves justice.

The former Tranmere midfielder felt that he was at fault for Celtic's opener in Saturday's 3-0 win when he invited Ki Sung-Yeung to shoot from 30 yards - and the South Korean buried the ball in the bottom left corner.

But overall he just felt that Motherwell could have played better.

Jennings (26) said: "Credit to the lads for getting this far because I don't think anybody expected us to get to the final, and there are a lot of teams who would have loved to have been in our position.

"I've heard one or two people say getting here was an achievement, but I don't think we showed our potential, really."

Liverpool-born Jennings added: "Celtic are a good team and if I wasn't in the role I was in then Georgios Samaras and Gary Hooper might have had the ball at their feet all day.

"Fortunately I was there and they didn't really cause us that much of a problem - I thought we covered them quite well.

"But their first goal was sort of my fault because I wanted Ki to shoot from that far out and unfortunately for me he couldn't hit it any better than he did."

Like many at Fir Park, however, Jennings is well aware that Motherwell have enjoyed a successful season by their own standards, with a Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final, two Hampden Scottish Cup appearances in the semi-final and final, and a top six SPL finish.

He said: "It's been a really good season, but it has also been very long, with the campaign starting in July with the Europa League, and we've had a very, very tight squad.

"Over the last few weeks we've been getting ready for the final, we've rested players here and there, and we've been prepared, so to have lost 3-0 is disappointing."