Motherwell manager Graham Alexander says the January transfer window was a factor in halting their pre-winter break momentum.
The Steelmen had three wins from five games heading into January but have not won a Premiership match in 2022.
They've progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup against Aberdeen this weekend with a extra-time win over Morton but have lost top scorer Tony Watt to Dundee United too.
Watt's goals have been a miss for Alexander, who's side have netted once in five matches - a 90th minute Ross Tierney leveller against St Mirren in a 1-1 draw.
He said: "It's why strikers get the most money, because they do the most important thing and that's score goals.
"Other players have to take that responsibility, and I'm talking about midfielders who break into the box, defenders who go up for set-pieces, which we are not taking advantage of.
"We have to find that adjustment quickly but we have players who will score goals. Tony was the top scorer in the Premiership.
"I think we are creating as many chances as we did previously, but we're not taking advantage of those chances. Tony, in that period, for us, was taking advantage of those chances.
"It's quite clear. It would be silly for to say it's a lazy argument. It's not. It could be any player who has been a significant part of what you are doing, when they are missing there's going to be an adjustment period."
Alexander added: "We were in brilliant form. We had the break and January is a destabilising month for a club like ours. We understand that.
"Wen we try and recruit and sell players on coming to Motherwell, we are trying to get them to the next stage of their career. Then they go on to a bigger platform or a bigger club.
"If we didn't have that side, there are some players who possibly wouldn't join. So when the transfer windows open, it's a difficult time for us. The break didn't do us any favours."
Despite the poor run of form, Alexander is backing his players to dig deep and fight their way out, just like they did during a tough October when they took one point from five games.
He explained: "We never lose sight of the fact we have good players. I played for 24 seasons and I can guarantee it wasn't 24 glory-filled seasons.
"A lot of them were grinds and they were difficult and you had to fight your way through it. I found that managers had trust in me that eventually we would come good and I would come good and that's the case with my players."
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