AS someone who has spent much of his career in the second tier of Scottish football, had a two season spell at Livingston, is of similar build and plays in the same position, it is no surprise the success of Lyndon Dykes has inspired Jordan White.

White may still be waiting to open his account for Motherwell, who he is hoping to start up front for when the Fir Park club play Coleraine at The Showgrounds in a Europa League qualifier on Thursday night, after eight games.

Yet, the 6ft 4in 28-year-old believes he is more than capable of emulating Dykes, the Australian-born Queens Park Rangers forward who started for Scotland in their Nations League matches against Israel and the Czech Republic this month, in the future.

“When I look at someone like Lyndon it makes me realise that there are still steps I can take in my career,” he said. “I played against him when I was in the same league and personally I felt I did every bit as good as he did.

“Fair play to him, he's stepped up to the mark, came up to the top league last year and played really well. I like him a lot, he's a top player. We have similar styles and seeing what he's done gives me the belief that I can go and do it.”

White feels that featuring for Stephen Robinson’s men in Europe this season will be a major step forward for him after spells at Dunfermline, Clyde, Dumbarton, Falkirk, Stirling Albion and Inverness Caledonian Thistle as well as Wrexham and Barrow in England and Drogheda in Ireland.

“Getting to play in Europe is brilliant for me given the journey I've been on to get here,” he said. “The boys did unbelievably well to qualify for the Europa League last season. We deserve to be there and I'm just glad to be part of it.

“Whatever I can do to help the team, I'll try my best to do that. But it's a great experience for me. I always felt I could get to this level. I've always had confidence in my ability. In fact, I probably feel that I should have been here earlier.

“But sometimes in football, you make decisions or pick up wee injuries – you just have to work hard to get on the way back then. You can also progress too quickly. The journey I've had so far has stood me in good stead. It has given me a lot of experience and goals. It's my job to put that into Motherwell now.

“I've never really played against European teams. It's definitely different. It's a lot more technical and different to league games. But it's a great test and challenge for all of us. We want to take the opportunity.”

Motherwell haven’t exactly been taking their chances latterly. They scored five goals in their win over Glentoran in the first qualifying round last month to set up the Coleraine match. But that is the only match they have netted in during the 2020/21 campaign.

White, though, feels it is only a matter of time before they come good up front, regardless of who establishes themselves as the first choice striker.

“There's a chance to grab the centre-forward position here,” he said. “We've got good strikers at Motherwell, we all believe in our own ability. We get on well and we know that given the chance, we can all produce.

“There hasn't been too many chances where we've thought, we should have scored there. As a team we have to keep creating opportunities. I've been around the game long enough to know that strikers get the blame all the time. But everyone can see how hard we're working inside the club. When it goes right and everyone starts scoring, no-one will say anything.

“Strikers need to be selfish at times, but I don't think we've had the rub of the green yet. Decisions haven't gone our way and we've had goals chalked off, myself included.

“In the first game of the season we hit the post, where last season that probably goes in. With a striker, that happens. We'll get on with it, we can take the criticism that comes our way on the chin. We all know we're good players and we will find our feet.

“When we got the chances against Glentoran we put them away. Everything's a bit doom and gloom just now because of the start, but you have to believe in the process and keep doing what you're doing. Eventually, our luck will change and it will go for us. We'll stick with it and believe it will change.”