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  • First team

    Tony Watt previews St Johnstone

  • First team

    Winter walks with Bevis Mugabi

  • First team

    Jake Carroll keen to make amends

  • First team

    INSIDE MOTHERWELL E16 // The king of the castle

  • First team

    Storylines: Motherwell v St Johnstone

  • First team

    How to watch Motherwell v St Johnstone

  • First team

    Next up: St Johnstone

  • First team

    Manager reacts to Hamilton loss

  • First team

    Motherwell 1-4 Hamilton Academical

  • First team

    Storylines: Motherwell v Hamilton

  • First team

    Tony Watt previews St Johnstone

    “We’ve had a good run since the manager came in.

    “We’re not happy with last week but it’s out of our minds and we’re focused on St Johnstone.”

    Tony Watt looks ahead to Saturday’s visit of St Johnstone.

  • First team

    Winter walks with Bevis Mugabi

    Motherwell’s Ugandan defender Bevis Mugabi shot to fame in January, when he outjumped Cristiano Ronaldo’s record to score a winner against Ross County.

    The popular figure hit a height of 262cm, beating Ronaldo’s 256cm, and also leapt 75cm off the ground compared to the Juventus forward’s 71cm.

    Here, he speaks about fame back home, representing his country and his time in Scotland.

  • First team

    Jake Carroll keen to make amends

    Jake Carroll keen to make amends

    “It was a tough day.”

    Jake Carroll is honest in his assessment of last Saturday. Many Motherwell fans will empathise, even if their choice of language may have been a bit stronger in the immediate aftermath.

    A home defeat is never fun. Neither is a Lanarkshire derby defeat. Yet the combination of the two in last week’s 4-1 loss proved startling to many, particularly with the backdrop of a victory over Kilmarnock offering hope of a springboard and some momentum going into the pre-split final furlong.

    While Accies were coming in on the back of a 1-1 draw with Rangers, hopes were high for the Steelmen. Instead, a catastrophic first half, including a sending off for Stephen O’Donnell, just added further pain to those watching on remotely, probably thankful for once that they weren’t there.

    “It was a game we were desperate to win, and it was one we just didn’t start well enough,” said the Motherwell left-back.

    “With the early goals and getting a man sent off, it just left us with a mountain to climb, and we couldn’t do that, unfortunately.

    “I know how much the fans must have been hurting after it, but I want to assure them that we are exactly the same. The dressing room was very quiet, and a lot of the lads were down.

    “They beat us recently, so we were even more desperate to beat them. We do know how much it means, and we are already thinking of how we can put it right next time.”

    It was a sentiment echoed by boss Graham Alexander.

    “We made poor decisions, and that gave the opponent the opportunity to take advantage,” he said. “If we had defended with the same ideas as we have done previously, they wouldn’t have scored that first goal.

    “And they know that. It’s back to the training pitch and work as hard as we always do.”

    No fans at football stadia is nothing new in football. But with every passing game, the yearn from supporters to get back increases.

    Motherwell fans will also be experiencing a new-look Fir Park when they return.

    The John Hunter Stand is getting more work done than an ageing Hollywood actor and anticipation of the facelift – which includes new seats, new toilets, new tellies, new payment methods and a new mural – are through the newly-painted roof.

    But while fans are missing their football, the impact of no one cheering you on from the stands has not gone unnoticed on the park.

    “I did say to one of the boys you are seeing a lot of strange results in football at the moment,” added Carroll.

    “You don’t know if that’s down to the impact of not having fans. Even if you think back to the game at their place, we normally take an unbelievable support with us but last time out that wasn’t there.

    “It might be having an impact. But we need to try and ignore that and just focus on getting over the line ourselves.”

    Victory over Hamilton last time out could have propelled Well into eighth and within a win of the top six, still with a game in hand.

    Instead, a win over St Johnstone this weekend will be needed to prevent the Perth club – currently a place and two points above – carving open a broad gap and increasing the complexities of attaining a top-six spot.

    “At the moment where we are, we need to stay focused on each game at a time. We can’t be distracted by where a win may take us,” insists Carroll.

    “We don’t want to be looking over our shoulders and down the table. It’s about looking up to the top six. But we’re not there yet. It’s all about taking it one game at a time and trying to see where that leads to.

    “On Saturday, there is the opportunity to do that.

    “The focus is game by game. It has to be. Sometimes you get carried away after a couple of wins and think about the top six. It can also work the other way where after two losses, you start to look behind you.

    “You have to come away from that, don’t get too worried. We are in a position where we have to take each three points seriously, and we will do that.”

    The 29-year-old Irishman missed the first half of the season through injury, but he is keen to make up for lost time.

    An Achilles problem kept him out for ten months, with a return to action coinciding with Stephen Robinson’s last game in charge back in December.

    “It was very tough watching from the sides. I missed some good moments this season, the European games in particular,” he said.

    “I’ve been desperate to get back in for a while, and now I’ve managed it, it’s been pleasing that I’ve had a good run of games to go with it. It’s about setting goals and targets.

    “There’s definitely more to come. I think I can add a little bit more going forward and I’d expect more in terms of assists. There’s more to come, and I’m hoping the fans will see that between now and the end of the season.”

  • First team

    INSIDE MOTHERWELL E16 // The king of the castle

    February has been a largely positive month in ML1.

    Bevis Mugabi attracted worldwide headlines for his contribution to kickstart the team’s winning run.

    Heading in the winner against Ross County, the Motherwell and Uganda defender hit a height of 262cm, beating Ronaldo’s 256cm, and also leapt 75cm off the ground compared to the Juventus forward’s 71cm.

    A popular figure at the club, he’s also been exploring Scotland where possible in his free time, and we joined him on a snowy walk.

    Wins over Dundee United and Kilmarnock kept the positive mood going around ML1, and also marked the return to prominence of Christopher Long.

    Sidelined with a freak injury in recent weeks, the forward has been reunited with his number nine jersey and returned in kind with the decisive goal against Dundee United.

    Perceived as a moody and sullen character, we speak to the Liverpudlian to get under the skin of what he’s really like, and what drives him to succeed.

    And with fans still locked out of Fir Park, we’ve been making improvements to the stadium.

    Chief executive Alan Burrows takes us around the ongoing renovations in our John Hunter Stand, in preparation for the return of supporters.

  • First team

    Storylines: Motherwell v St Johnstone

    Storylines: Motherwell v St Johnstone

    Motherwell host St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

    Here are the topics going into the match.

    Needing to bounce back

    Motherwell had won three from four going into last weekend’s match with Hamilton. But a 4-1 loss came as a setback to Graham Alexander’s men.

    Nevertheless, the 11 points gained from 21 so far under Graham Alexander give cause for encouragement, with hope of getting more on the board on Saturday.

    Preparing for the final

    Saturday marks St Johnstone’s final game before their Betfred Cup final date with Livingston on 28 February.

    Callum Davidson’s men will be keen to impress for places ahead of that tilt at silverware at Hampden Park.

    Unbeaten run

    Motherwell lost in the Betfred Cup to St Johnstone on the Saints’ run to the final, but are unbeaten against their opponents so far this season in the Scottish Premiership.

    A 1-0 win at Fir Park, thanks to Allan Campbell’s early goal, gave ‘Well three points in the first encounter of the campaign, before a 1-1 draw at McDiarmid Park in late November.

  • First team

    How to watch Motherwell v St Johnstone

    How to watch Motherwell v St Johnstone

    Motherwell v St Johnstone is available to watch on Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

    If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

    Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

    International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

    Kick-off at Fir Park is at 3pm.

  • First team

    Next up: St Johnstone

    Next up: St Johnstone

    St Johnstone are the visitors to Fir Park on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.

    Kick-off at Fir Park is at 3pm.

    Watch live

    If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

    Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

    International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

    Tale of the tape

    There’s often no predicting the winner between the two sides in this fixture.

    Saints were 2-1 victors in the last meeting in the League Cup earlier in this campaign, on their way to their appearance in the final next weekend.

    In the league, ‘Well are undefeated this season, drawing 1-1 at McDiarmid Park and winning 1-0 at Fir Park back in September.

    Form guide

    Motherwell have won three of their last five, defeating Ross County, Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

    St Johnstone gave away a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 at home to Celtic on Sunday. Prior to that, they had won two, drawn one and lost one in the league.

  • First team

    Manager reacts to Hamilton loss

    “It hurts. We have to hold our hands up and admit we weren’t good enough.”

    Graham Alexander speaks after the derby defeat.

  • First team

    Motherwell 1-4 Hamilton Academical

    Motherwell 1-4 Hamilton Academical

    Motherwell’s impressive run of three wins in four games came to a shuddering halt as Accies made it a hat-trick of wins over the Steelmen this season.

    And while Hamilton’s win at Fir Park in August was slender, this one was emphatic with the points in the bag after the opening 30 minutes.

    It was obvious that Brian Rice’s men have the measure of the Fir Park side and Bruce Anderson’s goal after seven minutes gave them the advantage.

    However, the double whammy of Ross Callachan’s penalty and Stephen O’Donnell’s dismissal after 18 minutes left ‘Well facing an uphill task. That became mission impossible when Marios Ogkmpoe made it 3-0.

    Second-half goals from David Mayo and a consolation from Mark O’Hara made little impression on Accies’ control of the game.

    After standing by the same starting side for the three consecutive games, Graham Alexander made one change, O’Hara returning from injury with Robbie Crawford moving to the bench.

    ‘Well’s intentions of avenging the 3-0 drubbing at Hamilton last month were dealt an early setback when the visitors fired home the opening goal after only seven minutes.

    Callachan’s pass into the box found Anderson and from 10 yards the former Aberdeen striker rifled the ball low past Liam Kelly.

    The home side replied immediately but from around the same distance from goal Devante Cole’s shot was blocked by Aaron Martin.

    Barry Maguire left the field for treatment to a bloody nose and with ‘Well down to 10 men Accies passed up a couple of chances.

    The Scotland Under 21 man had no sooner returned to restore parity when the Steelmen were permanently reduced to 10 men.

    When O’Donnell impeded Callachan’s hopeful attempts to get his head to Lee Hodson’s cross, the referee David Munro’s decision to award a penalty seemed harsh. The official then compounded ‘Well’s misery when he showed O’Donnell a red card on the basis of denying a goalscoring opportunity.

    Callachan sent Kelly the wrong way from the spot but had to retake it as a disgruntled O’Donnell was still walking off the pitch. Although the ‘Well ‘keeper guessed correctly for the second attempt Callachan confidently drilled the ball home to make it 2-0.

    By the half-hour mark, and with the Fir Park men still to threaten Ryan Fulton in the Hamilton goal, ‘Well found themselves 3-0 behind.

    A neat exchange with Anderson at the edge of the box sent Ogkmpoe in behind Bevis Mugabi and Ricki Lamie and the Accies striker took full advantage of the opening, ramming the ball beyond Kelly and all but wrap up the points with an hour remaining.

    A couple of free-kicks from Maguire finally brought Fulton into action before Christopher Long made way for on-loan Blackburn Rovers defender Tyler Magloire.

    Three goals behind and a man down at the interval, Motherwell faced an almost impossible task in the second half.

    And it got worse after 63 minutes when Accies extended their lead.

    Scott McMann supplied the cross and substitute David Mayo, with his first touch the finish to make it 4-0.

    Four minutes later, ‘Well pulled one back after Cole went down in the box and O’Hara’s fired the penalty just beyond Fulton’s right hand.

    The ‘Well boss immediately made a positive change Max Johnstone replacing Mugabi.

    But the home side made little impression as Accies comfortably collected another three points at ‘Well’s expense.

  • First team

    Storylines: Motherwell v Hamilton

    Storylines: Motherwell v Hamilton

    Motherwell host Hamilton in the third Lanarkshire derby of the 2020/21 campaign.

    Here are the key topics going into the match.

    Wrongs to right

    Hamilton are unbeaten in the last four derby fixtures, winning three.

    You have to go back to August 2019 for Motherwell’s last victory in the fixture, which was away from home, and back to March 2019 for the last win at Fir Park.

    Room to breathe

    Motherwell are currently eight points clear of Hamilton, the bottom side in the Premiership.

    Victory would increase the breathing room for Graham Alexander’s men, and keep sights on a top six place in the run-in to the split.