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  • First team

    Steven Hammell speaks for the first time as Motherwell manager

  • First team

    Hammell named permanent manager

  • First team

    Andy Dibble departs

  • Reserves & Under 18s

    K-Park is our new home ground

  • First team

    Next up: Aberdeen

  • Reserves & Under 18s

    Motherwell B in SPFL Trust Trophy action

  • Women

    Dundee United 1-1 Motherwell

  • Women

    Kicking on

  • Women

    Chloe Forrest joins Glasgow Women on loan

  • First team

    Hammell reacts to St Johnstone loss

  • First team

    Steven Hammell speaks for the first time as Motherwell manager

    “I’ve been preparing for something like this for a long time.
     
    “We need to see improvement which is the job for myself and my staff.”
  • First team

    Hammell named permanent manager

    Hammell named permanent manager

    We are delighted to confirm Steven Hammell as the new permanent manager of Motherwell Football Club.

    The 40-year-old has signed a two-year contract and has named Brian Kerr as his assistant.

    Steven has been in interim charge of the first team for the last fortnight but will now take the reins as the 26th individual to lead the club, leaving his previous role as academy director.

    Chairman Jim McMahon said: “We ran a very robust process that started with over 70 applicants. We met last weekend to narrow that down to a final three and we spent time interviewing them over the last few days.

    “All three candidates were impressive, and each brought their own positives, but Steven was the unanimous pick of the directors and Well Society board members who sat on the panel.

    “He inspired us with not only his short-term plans to reshape the squad and adapt the style, but his medium to long-term vision around a fully integrated club and we felt this matched how we see the future of the club.

    “We think he will bring many qualities to the job that he has demonstrated running the biggest department at the club for almost five years and it’s abundantly clear to us that he has the support and buy-in of the current squad and staff.

    “We are going to have a busy few weeks and months ahead, but the board will give Steven all the support we can to be successful.”

    A graduate of the club’s academy, Hammell went on to be Motherwell’s post-war record appearance holder, featuring in almost 600 games in claret and amber across a 17 year spell. 

    He is the club’s record European appearance holder with 20 showings in continental competition. He also earned recognition with the Scottish national team, included in several squads but winning his only cap under Tommy Burns in 2004.

    Having completed his UEFA Pro Licence, he retired from playing in January 2018 to be the academy director and has coached and led every squad the club has over the last five years.

    The 2020 Hall of Fame inductee will now forge a new chapter as manager of the club he has served for over two decades.

    “It is an honour for me to be given the responsibility as manager of this wonderful club and something I am very excited about,” Steven Hammell added.

    “The last two weeks have given me an even bigger appetite for it and I am determined and ambitious to take this team on and put my own stamp on it.

    “I hope I can continue to get my message across and give our supporters a team that will entertain them and a team that they can see are giving their all.

    “I have also spent that time assessing the squad and where I believe our short-term needs are.

    “I think we have some hugely talented players in this group and it’s now my job to get the best from them. I also have first-hand knowledge of the exciting young players at the club and we will integrate them into the first-team environment when they are ready.

    “In addition, I think the players need some help with some new faces. As well as taking the team and planning my application, I have been busy identifying potential targets, should I be successful in getting the job. Now that I have, one of my first tasks will be to look to strengthen our options across a couple of areas.”

  • First team

    Andy Dibble departs

    Andy Dibble departs

    Goalkeeping coach Andy Dibble has left the club after a short time in post.

    The 57-year-old Welshman was appointed by Graham Alexander during the summer, but following the recent departure of the club’s management team, it has been mutually agreed that he would return south.

    Scott Fox, who covered on several occasions last year due to Covid-19, will take the position in the interim whilst a new manager is appointed.

    “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my short time at Motherwell and want to place on record my thanks to everyone at the club who made me feel so welcome,” Dibble said.

    “I was brought in by Graham during the summer and was excited by the project. However, things can change so quickly in football, it’s just one of those things.

    “I leave on very good terms with everyone and wish the club nothing by success going forward.”

  • Reserves & Under 18s

    K-Park is our new home ground

    K-Park is our new home ground

    K-Park will be the home ground for our Women and Development Team this season.

    With a new campaign looming, Paul Brownlie’s squad have completed their pre-season preparations and look forward now to their first league game on Sunday against Dundee United.

    The first league match to be played at K-Park will be against Glasgow City on Sunday 14 August.

    Our Development Team will kick off their 2022/23 Reserve League campaign against Queen’s Park on Tuesday 6 September with the first league match against Hamilton Academical on Tuesday 4 October.

    Kick-off is 7:45pm.

  • First team

    Next up: Aberdeen

    Next up: Aberdeen

    We are back on the road this weekend when we face Aberdeen in the cinch Premiership.

    Kick-off is at 3pm at Pittodrie Stadium.

    Tickets

    Tickets can be bought online by clicking here or by visiting the ticket office at Fir Park.

    Ticket office opening times
    Monday – Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9-4pm

    Adults: £26
    Over 65: £20
    Over 75 and Youth 18-21 year old: £16
    Under 18: £12
    Under 12: £6

    Aberdeen have allocated four pairs of wheelchair tickets priced at £12, the carer goes free. Ambulant disabled tickets are charged at the age-appropriate rate and again can be issued with a free carer ticket should the supporter require it

    How to Follow the Game Online

    PPV and virtual season tickets options are not available for cinch Premiership matches this season if you are in the UK. This is the case for all cinch Premiership clubs.

    If you are outside the UK, you will be able to watch online at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

    The story of the match

    The Dons have had a strong start to their competitive 2022/23 season. They finished top of their Premier Sports Cup group, scoring 12 goals and conceding zero.

    An opening day 2-0 defeat to champions Celtic was followed by a convincing 4-1 victory over St Mirren on Saturday. New signing Miovski, Clarkson and Duk all got on the scoresheet.

    Motherwell continue their search for a permanent boss, with the Steelmen having a mixed start to their 2022/23 cinch Premiership campaign.

    After beating St Mirren 1-0 in Paisley on the opening day, a late Stevie May finish sunk the ‘Well to their first defeat of the season at Fir Park on Saturday.

    Match officials
    Referee: Chris Graham
    AR1: Calum Spence
    AR2: Jonathan Bell
    Fourth Official: Scott Lambie
  • Reserves & Under 18s

    Motherwell B in SPFL Trust Trophy action

    Motherwell B in SPFL Trust Trophy action

    Motherwell B take on East Kilbride on Tuesday night in the first round of the SPFL Trust Trophy.

    Kick-off at K-Park is 7.45pm.

    The ‘Well youngsters face a difficult task as the Lowland League side have started the season in fine form, with four wins from their opening five games.

    There are also some familiar faces on show with former Motherwell players Jonny Page and Bob McHugh within the EK ranks.

    Tickets

    Tickets are available online.

    Adults: £10
    Concessions: £5

    Match Officials
    • Referee: Colin Whyte
    • AR1: Paul O’Neill
    • AR2: Tommi Kerr
  • Women

    Dundee United 1-1 Motherwell

    Dundee United 1-1 Motherwell

    A difficult afternoon for Motherwell as the women of steel struggled to break down an organised Dundee United side, who held on in a disappointing season opener for Paul Brownlie’s side.

    Danni McGinley netted Dundee United’s first ever top-flight goal early into the first half before Kaela McDonald-Nguah levelled from the penalty spot.

    Looking to impose themselves, last season’s SWPL2 champions started brightly and almost found the opener after only four minutes.

    Latching onto Jade Mclaren’s long ball, Robyn Smith sliced through the Motherwell defence, but the strikers powerful effort rattled off the crossbar in what was an early warning sign from the hosts.

    United continued to threaten and eventually netted the opener after ten minutes. Summer signing Emily Mutch was caught in possession on her six-yard box, and McGinley was on hand to calmly place her strike into the empty net.

    The hosts were denied a second minutes later as Lauren Doran-Barr’s last-ditch challenge diverted Smith’s close-range effort wide of the post.

    With the second half underway, Motherwell quickly sought to rectify their first half display. Katie Rice’s floated corner kick accurately picked out Chelsie Watson unmarked in the box, but the defender couldn’t divert her effort towards goal.

    Motherwell were then unlucky not to score when Carla Boyce nicked in front of the defender and tried to dink the ball into the net, however her effort came off the bar.

    The women of steel were convinced they should’ve been awarded a penalty after Lucy Ronald’s cross struck the arm of Tammy Harkin, but the referee quickly waived play on despite the adamant pleas from the Motherwell technical area.

    After waves of attacking pressure, Motherwell finally found their reward. Ronald was bundled down deep into the United penalty area, leaving the referee no alternative but to point to the spot.

    McDonald-Nguah stepped up and confidently placed her strike into the top-right corner.

    Motherwell move on to face runners-up Glasgow City at K-Park next week.

  • Women

    Kicking on

    Kicking on

    Paul Brownlie took over at Fir Park as head coach and head of women and girl’s performance at the end of the 2020/21 season, and right away set to work on a massive overhaul.

    The women’s team at Fir Park had suffered a tumultuous year, with the problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic contributing to a season where survival was all that mattered.

    They would achieve their objective, finishing third-bottom of the table, four points ahead of Hearts who ended last, though there was still a great deal of work ahead.

    Recruiting former Scotland international Leanne Crichton as player/assistant manager was Paul’s first big addition to the setup and over the months leading up to the beginning of the campaign, he would continue to bolster his squad with a whole host of new additions.

    The Women of Steel would go on to perform well in Brownlie’s first year in charge, finishing one place higher in the league and registering a significantly better points tally.

    Much of their improved fortunes could be put down to a strong ending to the season, and Brownlie admits that preparations for their first game this time round have been significantly different.

    “The challenge for us at Motherwell is how we kick on this season and the players know that,” said Brownlie.

    “The players have got short, medium and long term objectives in terms of what it is that we want to achieve going forward.

    “There’s a real sense of belief now things are settled. It’s a totally different environment when you compare it to last season when we were preparing for the Glasgow City game on the first day and didn’t feel settled at that stage.

    “The players were given off- season programmes, which was something that they didn’t have last season due to the timescales. It has also given us the opportunity to meet up with the players too and discuss areas where they did well and where they can improve.

    “It’s testament to the players and to their characters, they’ve created a real environment and they
    push each other in every training session.

    “We know it’s going to be difficult, there’s been large investment across the board, however we’ve invested well too. At Motherwell we don’t have that professional model as yet, but what we do have is players that have a professional mentality and that’s going to be really important for us going forward.”

    Motherwell ended their pre-season preparations with a 6-1 victory over Gartcairn, taking their record to four wins and one defeat in five preparation fixtures during July.

    As well as performing well in matches, Brownlie has been thrilled with the dedication of his existing squad and recruitment of new players over the summer months.

    Most of the core of the squad have remained in ML1 for the new season, and the Well boss has

    also added Brogan Anderson, Emily Mutch, Emma Lawton and Lucy Ronald to the ranks.

    “The players have been excellent, they’ve really bought into what myself, Leanne and other staff has tried to implement,” he added. “Last season we were trying to build a team, it was a massive transition then compared to this year where we’ve been able to focus much more on how we are going to approach things tactically and work on our principles in and out of possession.

    “There’s not been a big overhaul in terms of the playing group, the players we’ve identified, we’ve managed to get which is excellent. There were some players who left the club, but we feel that quality has got a lot better, which is the ongoing target.

    “Everybody we wanted to keep stayed, even when some had offers where they may have been better off financially. They’ve stayed here because I think there’s a real buy-in to what Leanne and I are trying to achieve.

    “In terms of our transfer strategy, we’ve got two approaches, the first is the academy which we are trying to build, bringing youth players through is so important – we’ve had five players in over the summer from the academy and they’ve got good time as well.

    “From there it was about identifying other quality, SWPL2 has always been part of the strategy in terms of who they best players are in there. We’ve been able to go get Brogan Anderson and Lucy Ronald, who were two of the best players in that league.

    “We were also able to get in Emily Mutch, we knew the goalkeeping department was going to be absolutely huge for us this season and knew we had to get it right. That’s no disrespect to the goalkeeper who was here before, but to bring Emily in was a huge a signing for the football club, the fact she’s still so young, but she’ll bring in so much quality too.

    “I think it was signing that showed the distance this football club has travelled, certainly during my time anyway, she’s a fantastic talent with a great future ahead of her.”

    As well as signing players with exciting futures ahead of them, the future looks bright with a number of prospects emerging from the youth academy.

    London Pollard and Jemma Hughes will both join up with the Scotland’s Under-19s squad in the midweek for a training camp, and Pollard has already made an impact for the national team having scored twice and making three assists during wins over Kazakhstan, Estonia and Kosovo.

    Brownlie believes that international honours for his players demonstrates the huge strides the club is making.

    Having previously worked with the Motherwell elite academy at Braidhurst, Paul is keen to put that experience into building a pathway for young female players to excel.

    “Jemma has come through the youth system here, and London established herself in the squad last season,” Paul explained.

    “By all accounts her performances were excellent, she got a couple of assists and a couple of goals.

    “The challenge for her is to go cement her place in the team this year, and can she add it to that? Can she improve her goal tally? Go embrace the experience of what youth international football gives you?

    “For Jemma the target is to get into the squad as well, she was in and around a couple of the training camps, but never quite made that final jump into one of the squads until now.

    “That has to be a realistic target, especially with the quality she showed at the end of last season, everyone at Motherwell certainly believes she is good enough to play at that level.

    “We’ve made huge strides, it was a big part of the remit for me when I walked through the door here. I quickly recognised we had to make a performance pathway to help young girls play at this football club.

    “I think everyone knows the success that Steven Hammell and the guys have had within the elite academy. I was fortunate enough to work alongside them for a year, and wanted to build something similar for the girls. We’re around 10 months into the process of building the project and the strides we’ve taken have been phenomenal.

    “We’ve tried to be different in terms of what we offer young players and think at this time, the academy is evolving really well – there are some brilliant young players who in time will be future first team players and future Scotland players as well.”

    After a season playing at Alliance Park, K-Park in East Kilbride is set to be the new home of Motherwell women in 2022/23.

    In April, Fir Park hosted almost 800 supporters as Brownlie’s side took on Hamilton.

    It was a demonstration as to the interest in women’s football in Scotland, though the Well gaffer realises they have to carry on that momentum.

    This summer’s European Championships may not have featured Scotland, but given the widespread attention the tournament has received, Brownlie insists the landscape for women’s football north of the border has never looked better.

    He also praised key figures behind the scenes at Fir Park, for driving the highest standards both on and off the pitch.

    “The people who work behind the scenes here, they’ve got a real passion for this football club and they are determined to do whatever they can to make it successful,” added the former Scottish FA high performance manager.

    “I’ve had real support from Alan Burrows and Steven Hammell – I try to convey their passion to the players, and they all recently attended the Sligo home game.

    “We want to be fully integrated within the football club, which we are, and everyone is working on striving to make the women’s department bigger and stronger.

    “Something we encourage the first team and academy players to do is go watch games. I think that’s a unique way to learn. We’re constantly telling the kids at the club to watch players who play in their position and to find their role models.

    “That’s something we’re trying to do in the first team here as well, we want players at Motherwell who youngsters can aspire to and look up to.

    “We had a fantastic event at Fir Park last season where the team played in front of just under 800 fans, and how we engage with those supporters moving forward is going to be crucial – they are going to be part of our journey.

    “The quality we’ve seen from start to finish at the Euro’s has been fantastic, and it’s important that these young players aspire to get to that next level. There’s much more opportunities in this country now, some clubs are going full time and others adopting hybrid models – I’m sure over time that’s something we’ll be doing at Motherwell as well.”

    Following tomorrow’s trip to Dundee United at Thomson Park, the home of Lochee Juniors, Motherwell
    will host last season’s runners-up Glasgow City.

    It is sure to be a stern challenge, but an impressive end to 2021/22 and a strong pre-season has given plenty of cause for optimism.

    The team won their final two league matches and also contested two matches against eventual champions Rangers where they lost both fixtures by a single goal.

    A look back on previous results against some of the tops teams shows that a one goal defeat is certainly positive progress, and Brownlie and his staff continue to try further steps forward.

    “We finished last season on a real high in terms of the last five games we won three, and lost to Rangers in the other two narrowly – we had a bit of momentum,” he continued.

    “We know Dundee United’s qualities and have made sure we have done our homework as a staff group.

    “There isn’t a team that train any more than what we train, the volume of training here is getting players better every single training session and that’s the target for them.

    “We’re quite hard on them in terms of the intensity of the training sessions, but that is what is needed to compete with the top teams – we’ve trained five times this week in the build-up to the Dundee United game.

    “We’ve got our targets internally, we made good use of our time on the bus to the friendly at Sunderland to discuss with the players what our aims were, breaking it down monthly.

    “We know the challenge, but it’s one that all the players are up for.”

  • Women

    Chloe Forrest joins Glasgow Women on loan

    Chloe Forrest joins Glasgow Women on loan

    Academy graduate Chloe Forrest has joined Glasgow Women on loan for the rest of the season. 

    The centre-half, who has been involved in pre-season friendly matches this season, is looking to push onto the next step ahead of her push to break into the first-team.

    “We have high hopes for Chloe,” head coach Paul Brownlie added.

    “She is a young, hungry and talented individual with an excellent work ethic.

    “We that this loan spell is an opportunity for her to play regular first team matches in SWPL1 and allow her to progress as a player.

    “I am excited to see how she gets on this season and will be monitoring her progress closely.”

  • First team

    Hammell reacts to St Johnstone loss

    “The overwhelming feeling right now is disappointment. At the very least, we should be coming away with a point today.”