Motherwell manager Graham Alexander dismissed the significance of their league form ahead of a Scottish Cup tie between two teams who are struggling for points.

Motherwell and Hibernian have amassed just one win between them in 10 matches each since the winter break and both are battling with most of the league for a top-six place.

That sole league win came for Hibernian, who have drawn their last three games 0-0, and the two teams also played out a goalless draw at Fir Park on a windy January night.

But Alexander does not feel recent results will matter when the teams go head to head in Lanarkshire on Sunday.

“When we are flying and winning games and at the top end of the table, we are not getting overboard about it, we are not talking about the past games,” he said.

“When we have won three or four games on the bounce we don’t talk about those games on the bounce, we are talking about the next one.

“We are quite good at putting the past in the past and focusing on what’s in front of us. So that doesn’t change now.

“We have good characters and personalities in this squad. They want to win.

“That’s the one thing I would say from this period, that we have shown great spirit and fight to come back in a lot of those games, to either take a point or win through in the cups.

“We have been behind in all those games and we have had the spirit and togetherness to do that.

“A team that doesn’t care, doesn’t do that. We have a team and a squad that cares.

“We are going through a patch where things conspire against us but we can change that and that’s what we have to focus on.”

Motherwell had a good chance to get that elusive league win when they hosted Ross County and Dundee in their previous two matches but only took a point.

Alexander said: “We are all emotional after a game but once we get back to work our mood is generally pretty consistent whether we are winning or losing because we have to put the work in on the training pitch.

“That’s why we don’t get ahead of ourselves when we are winning because we know there will be difficult moments in the season and you have to face those with the same mentality that you have when you’re winning.”