Motherwell defender Kofi Balmer reckons the Fir Park side must win out in their hunt for the top six. A 4-1 loss against Aberdeen at the weekend dented their goal difference, with St Mirren’s 5-1 thumping of this week’s opponent Kilmarnock not doing them any favours. It puts Michael Wimmer’s side in eighth spot on goal difference, with Saints above them and Hearts in sixth holding significant advantdges on that front. Victory against Derek McInnes’ men would take things down to a last day decider on matchday 33, where Hearts are the visitors to Fir Park. Balmer knows goal difference could be a factor as the game at Rugby Park this weekend is filed under the must win bracket. Balmer said to the Motherwell Times: “When I played back in Northern Ireland, they were the same. They had the league split, so I was aware of it. Obviously, you want to be top six, and Saturday makes it a tougher challenge for us, but with two massive games coming, it is up to us to make things right. “I think the next game is a must-win, and even the game after that is a must-win. You say that every game is a must-win, you want to win every game, but putting it into perspective, the next game is massive for us. We need to win that to bring the momentum into the following game, but all we can do is look at the next game.” “I think the goal difference is massive. I don't think at the minute ours is great. Obviously, Saturday doesn't help. When you do concede that third, and then the fourth, I think you have that mindset that you have to go for it, and you are going to leave yourself open. I think for the fourth goal, we did that. I think the boys were just wanting the attack. That's the way the game goes. I think the 3-1 down, it was just up to us not reacting properly. The Fir Park defender was having to remain alert throughout the international break and then returning to club football. He was drafted into the Northern Ireland squad from the standby list and replaced Fir Park regular Liam Gordon against Aberdeen at the weekend. Gordon had pulled up with illness and Balmer was thrust into the match Michael Wimmer’s side eventually lost by a three goal margin. Amid all that, the centre-back has held himself accountable for the way Aberdeen scored their third goal, as improvement is targeted. Balmer added: “I was on standby for the camp, so at that point you always have to be ready to get the call in. Unfortunately, one of the boys got injured in the squad, so I got called in and it was a quick turnaround for me. Made the trip there, but I was there just training, working away, and I came back on the Thursday. “It's been a quick turnaround both ways for me. You don't expect to be coming on that early. You always have to be ready to come on when you're needed, and I've done that. We came on and I couldn't really take my time to get into the game. I had to hit the ground running. The pressure's there as soon as you come on, so I was just ready to get going. I think for large parts of the game, we didn't have much of the ball, but I think up until they scored the third, our shape was good. “We were making them pass the ball around us and they weren't going through us. The third goal, I put my hand up. I think maybe I should have done a lot better for it. I think after that, we didn't react the way we should have, and it just got worse for us.”