IF you listen very, very carefully, somewhere in Kilmarnock you can hear the murmur of discontentment brewing. In some households it will be the shriek of the odd cat being kicked, the clatter of a door being slammed or in many cases the sound of silence as grown men sit in the corner with a face like a well-spanked derriere as if their last Killie Pie had just been pinched.

Indeed, that rumble you can hear chuntering away in the background right now isn’t a low flying plane or the gentle hum of a pneumatic drill from along the road. It’s most likely long-suffering supporter Gordon Sawers composing another foul-mouthed YouTube rant. The passionate fan caught the attention of the country last week following another angst-ridden afternoon watching his team. Even during the week he sought to vent his anger after Josh Magennis, the Kilmarnock forward, described him and his.. err.. not-so-constructive criticism, as poison.

The man of the moment was in the away stand at Fir Park yesterday to see if his motivational speech had worked. Well... it didn’t. The ruthless streak of Mr Sawers’ tongue wasn’t an attribute that could be replicated by his team in their rare attacking forays in this 1-0 defeat, their fourth of a so far winless start to the Ladbrokes Premiership season. Granted, it wasn’t quite the one-sided calamity that has been the case previously since the commencement of the latest campaign, but it will still cause enough frustration for those clamouring for something... anything, to try and shake Kilmarnock out of their descent into the mire.

In truth, with the exception of a late rally, there was little threat posed to Motherwell goalkeeper Connor Ripley, while at the other end of the park there was a defence understandably fragile, both mentally and physically, that also had Stevie Smith hobble injured in the first half. Indeed, they were the architects of their own downfall after just 13 minutes when Mark O’Hara brought Louis Moult tumbling to the turf in the box before the forward got back up to convert from the spot.

It was a decision Gary Locke didn’t agree with, who said: “Unfortunately we’re on the end of a bad decision.

“We did better. The second half I thought it was more like us, we looked more positive going forward and created a few chances, but we have to put them away.”

The margin of Motherwell’s victory yesterday may have been slender on paper, but it wasn’t a reflection on the amount of shots taken or the amount of time the ball pinged about the Kilmarnock box as they tried to hack it clear. The star man, if he’s even old enough to be called that, was Dom Thomas. On just his third start for the Fir Park club, the 19-year-old winger seized the opportunity handed to him by Ian Baraclough and shone brightly with it. Operating on the right, he was a joy to watch with his direct running, clever tricks and flicks and, above all, his raw talent.

This was demonstrated early on when he left O’Hara for dead with a dashing drive into the box only for a stunning shot to be tipped over by Jamie MacDonald. He almost turned provider later on with a perfectly-weighted ball into Moult who slotted into the net when through on goal, only for it to be flagged offside. TV pictures would later show him to be at least level.

“He went and took on board what we are trying to get out of him,” said Baraclough of the young man of the match. “He’s earned the start with performances in the Under-20s and his attitude in training. I just felt it was the right time.

“I said to him ‘Go and enjoy yourself. Get at full-back, create havoc and try and get an end product.’ And he did, right from the first minute.”

Alas, for all the creative play of Thomas, it was left to a single moment of madness from O’Hara that would ultimately cost his team the game and Mr Sawers some more sleepless nights. It came after 13 minutes when the Kilmarnock defender looked ponderous with the ball at his feet facing away from his own goal. This gave Moult the chance to nip in front of the 19-year-old as he eventually went to swipe the ball away, only for him to clatter into Moult instead. The only surprise left to come was that after the Motherwell man’s low spot-kick flew low beyond MacDonald’s valiant dive, that it would be the last time the goalkeeper would pick the ball out of his net on another afternoon of frustration.