Motherwell might be one point off fourth and a place away from European football - but they don't deserve it at this moment according to Dean Cornelius.
It was all going so well for the Steelmen before half-time in their first post-split top six fixture against Rangers.
Despite going behind to a Liam Kelly own goal, they had a man advantage after Leon Balogun was dismissed when he lunged into a reckless challenge on Cornelius, with Ross Tierney levelling soon after.
But the second half was poor and a Scott Wright goal on top of a James Tavernier penalty capped off an easy 45 minutes and a 3-1 win for the Premiership champions.
Coming up against Dundee United and Ross County on the road before finishing their season off against Hearts and Celtic, the midfielder knows things must improve.
Graham Alexander's side are on a run of one win in 14 games and the youngster admits they couldn't complain if Europa Conference League qualifiers weren't coming to ML1 this summer.
He said: “We’re probably not deserving of that with our form. It’s been a gift and we need to make sure we turn it around and prove we do deserve to be there.
“We have four games left now and definitely have a chance of pushing all the way in the league and that starts again next week.
"Nobody wants to be playing for nothing. We have a chance, luckily because of how well the teams have done in Europe. Scotland is definitely in a fortunate place when it comes to the European places. We just want to take one."
Rangers' squad depth was also a factor in the match believes Cornelius, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst made eight changes to his XI that beat Celtic in Scottish Cup semi-final action.
Reflecting on that and Balogun's tackle, the 'Well ace added: “When you look at their squad depth it’s frightening. They have top, top quality.
"At the end of the day they can only put 11 on the pitch and we have to believe we can go out and beat them. But they have players who play at the top level.
"Personally, I want to challenge myself against the best. I wanted to prove that I can do it.
"I’ve not seen the tackle back but from what I’ve heard it was a bad tackle and the ref made the right decision. How did it feel? Not great but these things happen in football.
"It’s a contact sport and I’m going to get kicked about as I’m not the biggest in size. It’s part and parcel of the game and you just need to get on with it."
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