Former RB Salzburg keeper Mantl signed on Friday and watched from the bench as Killie moved off the bottom of the William Hill Premiership thanks to Greg Kiltie’s double and a Tyreece John-Jules strike.

They also had Ferrie to thank for several good stops, notably from Ibrahim Said when Motherwell were on top in the first half, and from substitute Johnny Koutroumbis in stoppage time.

The former Queen’s Park player also made two excellent stops from Seb Palmer-Houlden but saw Alex Lowry follow up to net the rebound first time and was unfortunate that the ball ricocheted in off the Motherwell striker to put the visitors in front, briefly.

German Mantl, 26, was brought in with Max Stryjek ruled out with a serious knee injury and after a deal to sign former Dundee United keeper Dave Richards collapsed. But Ferrie showed his credentials for the number-one spot.

“I’ve always known he’s capable of making big saves,” McCann said. “The two goals that Motherwell get are on the back of him making some brilliant stops. He’s always got that quality.

“We know Dave’s in a sad situation, unfortunately he’s unable to join us. But Nico’s come in and joined us. We managed to get the clearance for him and get him on to the bench.

“So he knows he’s got a fight on his hands now.”

(Image: Steve Welsh/PA Wire)

Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson admitted some of his side’s second-half defending was “unacceptable” but he restricted much of his post-match analysis in the immediate aftermath.

He faces a challenge to get his side back on track after five consecutive defeats with Hearts up next, but he would have taken some encouragement from the way his attacking players – and left-back Emmanuel Longelo – linked up in the first half.

“It’s not the case there is no confidence at all,” he said. “If you saw the first half, you see that there’s quite a lot of confidence and belief in the way that we play.

“And looking at the amount of shots on goal, the chances, and if you check big chances, there is a belief because we create a lot.

“But it’s not solid enough how we coped in the second half. We lost focus in some key moments and that’s not good enough.”

Motherwell have badly missed Oscar Priestman in central midfield and the Australian’s impending return could give them extra solidity.

“We have very good players coming back from injury in the coming week. Johnny Koutroumbis is back too. So we will be more and more competitive going forward.”