'We don't want to be that team' - Askou warns Motherwell over theatrics

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou wants his players to act with "integrity" and not indulge in theatrics after Callum Slattery's controversial role in St Mirren defender Richard King's overturned red card.

Midfielder Slattery went down holding his face after King swung a hand in his direction as the pair tangled off the ball during Motherwell's 5-0 win in Paisley last Saturday.

There appeared to be minimal contact and St Mirren won their appeal after King was sent off for violent conduct.

"It happens now and then that players overplay situations and have exaggerated reactions," Askou said.

"I don't think it excuses the action from King because it's never okay to swing an arm at an opponent. Then it's always up to the referee to decide whether the force is enough for a red card or not.

"But we try to build a culture here that our reactions have to be in proportion with the action itself. No matter if he just caught him lightly or not, it's not okay and it's something that we have discussed internally.

"It's a leftover from an old culture in football where everyone tries to, sometimes, when they're desperate, to cheat and steal a little bit to get things tipping your way.

"We don't want to be that team going forward. So it's something we have addressed and it's something we need to learn from.

"As I said, it doesn't excuse the action from King but we want to try and really leave that behind us.

"I have urged everyone to do better in terms of how to react in situations like that going forward because we want to be a team with integrity and respect for the game."