Willie Collum will take charge of Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Rangers at Fir Park.
Regarded as one of Scotland’s best officials, it will be Willie’s second Motherwell game of the current campaign. His other match was Motherwell’s last home meeting with Hibs; Colin Calderwood’s men progressing through to the Quarter Final of the Scottish Communities League Cup on penalty kicks.
He did handle the abandoned Friday Night Football experiment when Motherwell took on Hibs but Steven McLean handled the re-arranged fixture.
He will be a very familiar face to Motherwell fans having taken charge of three games last year too.
He was in charge of the Co-operative Insurance Cup Quarter Final clash with Dundee United at Fir Park; Alan Gow’s late goal booking ‘Well’s spot in the Semi Final. He was the man in the middle for the Semi Final too as Rangers scraped past a brave ‘Well side 2-1; Keith Lasley grabbed the goal for the Fir Parkers.
He also took charge of the 3-3 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle in late April as ‘Well roared back from 3-0 down to secure a point.
The season before last, Collum took charge of three Motherwell matches. Jim Gannon’s side crashed to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at St Mirren in the Co-operative Cup and followed that with another defeat; by the same score line, at Tannadice some five months later.
However, the most memorable, by far was the 6-6 draw with Hibs at the end of that season.
Incredibly, Motherwell have never won a league game with Collum in charge. The only victories recorded whilst the Bellshill based whistler has been the man in the middle was the then CIS Cup win against Raith Rovers at the start of the 2007/08 season, a Scottish Cup success at Inverurie the following season and the aforementioned win over Dundee Utd last October.
His overall record in charge of the Steelmen reads three wins, eight defeats and three draws from fourteen matches. In those games, Motherwell have scored 23 and conceded 29. 27 players have gone into the book, 14 wearing claret and amber, while two players have been dismissed – Ian Murray of Hibs at Easter Road a few years back and Jerard Aafjes at Falkirk two seasons ago.
Raymond White and Alastair Mathers will run the lines with Alan Muir on fourth official duties. Martin Clark will be the Referee Observer and Kevin Collins will be the SPL delegate.