Terry Butcher praised goalscorer Steven Craig (left)

Dunfermline Athletic boss Jimmy Calderwood has told his players they are lucky to still have contracts after putting on a sub-Par performance at Fir Park.

The 2-1 defeat by Motherwell left the Pars seven points adrift of third-top Hearts and level with Kilmarnock in the chase for Uefa Cup qualification.

Well dent Pars Euro hopes

It would be the first time Dunfermline will have played at such a level since season their glory days of the 60s, when Bordeaux, Everton, Stuttgart and West Bromwich Albion were among their scalps.

And Calderwood said: "We are going for European football and defeat does not seem to hurt some of my players as much as it hurts Jimmy Nicholl and myself - and I can't stand that."

The first half was a disgrace Dunfermline boss Jimmy Calderwood

Most neutral observers thought that the side fielded by Calderwood and his assistant had not played too badly and probably deserved a draw on a ground where they have not won since 2000.

But the manager concluded: "Motherwell wanted to win more than we us and that hurts.

"There are players in there who are lucky to still have contracts.

"The first half was a disgrace. Our players thought they could just turn up.

"With the state of the pitch, there wasn't going to be a chance to play football.

"We warned them, but they still tried to play and only got a bit of urgency once we were two down."

Victory gives Motherwell a gap between themselves and bottom club Dundee United in the Scottish Premier League.

Delighted manager Terry Butcher said: "It moves us three points away from the bottom and that's something to build on."

Scotland forward James McFadden returns from suspension at the weekend.

But Butcher thought that recent signing Steven Craig, whose goal against Dunfermline was his first for the club, had given him some food for thought.

"And every time Stephen Pearson gets on the ball, there's a hush in the crowd in expectation of what he might do," he added.