PETER HARTLEY says he is keeping his distance from David Turnbull in training, and not just because the Motherwell captain doesn’t want to be shown up by his gifted teammate.

Hartley is delighted to see the 19-year-old back in the Fir Park fold after knee surgery curtailed both a big-money move to Celtic and then his season so far back with the team he supported as a boy.

Now he can’t wait to see him back up to full speed and contributing for Motherwell on the field once more after making his comeback as a substitute last week against St Mirren. And there is no way he is going to jeopardise that by crashing into him on the training pitch.

“I’m staying as far away from him as possible!” Hartley said. “I just want him on the pitch on a Saturday so I’m staying away, because I’m quite clumsy in a tackle and I don’t want to hurt him.

“He’s like a brand-new signing. You saw what he did last season, he was amazing.

“Obviously he’s had his lay-off, but that’s gone now and he’s in the final stretch now. Hopefully he can start a game soon when the gaffer and the physio think he’s ready.

“When he does start that [first] game, he’s going to be like a new asset to the team that can maybe get us over the line [in third place]. He’s a breath of fresh air, he’s a fantastic talent.

“He’s a really good boy as well, he’s just kept his head down and worked hard as you would have seen in the documentary the club produced. You could see what he went through.

“It’s fantastic to have him back because a lot of the boys we signed in the summer hadn’t seen David train and play. To have him back in the last few weeks, a lot of those boys are like; ‘oh my days!’

“You see the real raw talent and natural ability the boy has, and then how hard he works on top of that, which is the most important thing.

“If you don’t work hard and you have that talent, it won’t really take you anywhere, but David has really got his head screwed on his shoulders.”

Hartley was relieved to see Motherwell finally put another three points on the board against Ross County in midweek after a barren run of just one win in eight games, and he hopes to further consolidate their third-place position when they visit Tynecastle this afternoon.

“I am surprised to see where Hearts are,” he said. “They are a good team with good players and a big fanbase.

“We have beaten them twice in the league and we want another three points. We have a gameplan and if we can execute that then I think we can win. We are reaping the rewards for all the hard work we have put in.

“The season is not over, we are third now but there are a lot of points to be played for. We have nine games left and they are cup finals for us. We want to finish as high as we can and we can’t get carried away.

“It is fine being third now but if we aren’t third or fourth at the end of the season it will be disappointing. If the whistle goes on the final day of the season we want to be as high up as we can.”

Meanwhile, Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson says that his forward-planning for next season is being made easier by his side's lofty league position, with his budget for next term already all-but secure.

“We can book pre-season trips and games and looking at pre-contracts in," he said.

"We’re looking at people to see how we can make the side stronger. We’ve been doing that since the window closed and we’re well on our way to making additions.”