Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson insists his side must deal with the increase in expectation that comes with their lofty league position.

The Steelmen sit third in the Ladbrokes Premiership table after winning five of their first nine games of the season.

But they saw their two-match winning run come to an end last weekend as fourth-placed Aberdeen ran out 3-0 winners at Fir Park.

Robinson said his players must learn to cope with the additional scrutiny Well find themselves under following their strong start to the campaign.

He said: "Of course we were extremely disappointed. It was an opportunity to maybe even put a little bit of distance between us and Aberdeen.

"But people get frustrated, they voice their opinions. The problem is when expectation's risen, which it has massively, when you do lose then the downside is that the criticism is hard.

"If you want to be up there in the top reaches of the league then you have to deal with that, the players have to deal with that.

"I've warned them time and time again not to read social media – concentrate on what we're doing, keep improving, learning and see where it takes us."

Motherwell will come up against another team fighting at the top end of the table when they visit Rangers on Sunday.

Despite Well's current position in the standings, Robinson admitted his focus remains on amassing enough points to avoid relegation.

He added: "The objective has to be – and I listened to (former Kilmarnock manager) Steve Clarke last year when he was sitting in these positions – first and foremost get enough points to make sure you're in the league and then see what you can do afterwards.

"Of course, in our dressing room and in the coaching room, we have got aspirations. We believe in what we're doing, we believe in the players.

"But first and foremost we need to make sure we're in this division."