| 2 | Rangers | 29 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 26 | 57 |
| 3 | Celtic | 28 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 57 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 29 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 28 | 53 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 29 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 46 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 42 |
Calum Ward has grasped his chance with both hands since and says he’s enjoying the amount of minutes he’s currently getting.
Ward has adapted well to the new system being implemented by the manager, and is learning with every minute played this season.
Jens Berthel Askou is pleased from the buy-in seen from the number of supporters who have been following the team home and away so far this season. With 300 new season ticket holders, 6000 home fans against Rangers and 1500 away fans against St Johnstone, he is not surprised the away end is sold out already for Saturday’s match against Hearts.
The manager discusses the thought process of bringing Callum Hendry to the club, future incoming transfers and the state of play regarding the current injured players at the club.
Tom Sparrow is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the extra-time win against St Johnstone last weekend.
Manager Jens Berthel Askou confirmed the Welshman is ruled out for the upcoming matches in his press conference earlier today but has more positive news regarding other members of the playing squad.
“Tom picked up an injury against St Johnstone,” he said.
“He’ll most likely not be involved in the next two games.
“Liam Gordon is back in full training and ready to participate. Jordan McGhee is back in full training. Slattery is back from suspension and ready to play.
“Johnny Koutroumbis won’t make it for the weekend, but we’ll assess him next week. He’s on the pitch again doing his rehab. We’ll see about next week; that’s more likely.”
The manager was also asked about the long-term absentees and how their recovery is getting on.
“They’re still a bit away from getting back,” he explained.
“We try to involve them with the stuff we do; they’re around us doing their rehab, and they’re in all the meetings. The squad is fantastic in terms of keeping everyone a part of what they do, including all the fun stuff away from the pitch.
“We’re hopeful they will go through the rest of their recovery as well as they can. They’re following the plan as they should.”
Get to know our new striker Callum Hendry with these quick facts.
Hendry already knows a few faces in the dressing room. Liam Gordon is one of his best mates from their time spent at St Johnstone together, and the striker is also close with Elliot Watt, who was a teammate at Salford City.
The forward says that the two of them would be his best men at his wedding.
From his time in Scotland, Hendry is more than familiar with Motherwell. He made his debut for St Johnstone back in 2017 in a match against the Steelmen at McDiarmid Park.
The Saints won on the day 4-1, with Trevor Carson, Carl McHugh and Charles Dunne all being sent off.
Hendry has also scored against Motherwell on four occasions in three different matches, with each game ending in a 2-1 win for St Johnstone. The pick of the bunch was a 90th-minute goal from a volley in March 2022.
Hendry comes from a footballing background, with his father being former Scotland international and Premier League winner Colin Hendry.
Hendry turned out for the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Rangers, Dundee and Manchester City in a hugely successful career that saw him represent his country 53 times, which saw him play at Euro ’96 and the 1998 World Cup.
Matchday two of the 2025/26 SWPL campaign awaits the women of steel this weekend, as they return home to K-Park for the first home game of the season.
A frustrating, but encouraging opening weekend display against full-time Glasgow City had the women of steel leaving Springburn with mixed emotions last weekend.
Motherwell’s magnificent start soon unravelled, as the women of steel became the architects of their own downfall, with Ukrainian striker Nicole Kozlova capitalising on a defensive mistake to convert the opener, dispatching an accurate finish into the bottom-right corner.
Less than four-minutes later, City had a second, with Katie Lockwood effortlessly gliding through a series of challenges before coolly slotting her strike past goalkeeper Rebecca Cameron.
The third followed soon after, as Kozlova secured her brace to compound a frustrating 15-minute spell, with Motherwell’s confidence eroded following the opening goal.
The Tale of the Tape
Motherwell
The women of steel regrouped, and restructured their compact and assured formation which proved promising in the opening phase of the game, but couldn’t find a route back into the contest.
Motherwell will be frustrated by a disappointing 15-minute spell, but will head into this weekend’s contest encouraged by aspects of their display against one of the Premier League title-chasers.
Several summer acquisitions made their first or second Motherwell debuts, as Lily Boyce and Orla Burn made their first Motherwell appearance, with the returning Carla Boyce and Kodie Hay both making their second Motherwell debuts.
Motherwell will be without defender Jenna Penman, who remains unavailable after sustaining a shoulder injury in the opening matchday last weekend.
Montrose
Montrose will be determined to right the wrongs from their opening matchday defeat to Rangers, as despite taking an early advantage, Rangers cruised to an assured 6-1 victory.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased through the matchday turnstiles at K-Park. Both cash and card payments are accepted.
Additional Information – no pets allowed within K-Park.
Matchday Travel
Aaron Thomson has been named in the Scotland Under 17 squad for an upcoming training camp.
The two-day training camp in Largs takes place this week, and will give Brian McLaughlin the chance to work with the group of players ahead of EURO Under 17 matches in October.
Good luck, Aaron.
Motherwell are on the road for the third time in three weeks on Saturday 23 August, travelling to Tynecastle to take on Hearts.
Kick off is 3pm.
All tickets for the match have been sold.
If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.
Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.
Motherwell remain undefeated under Jens Berthel Askou in competitive matches. Saturday’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone saw Motherwell book their place in back-to-back Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.
Lukas Fadinger netted his second goal of the season, with Motherwell keeping two clean sheets in two matches for only the second time since January.
Hearts appointed Derek McInnes as their new manager during the summer break, as the Jambos kicked off a new era at Tynecastle following significant investment from Tony Bloom.
McInnes and Hearts have made a strong start to the season. Saturday’s penalty shootout defeat to St Mirren was their first taste of defeat this season.
Scoring 22 goals in all competitions so far this season, the new-look Hearts side have started strongly. After nine new arrivals, arguably the best bit of business conducted over the summer was securing the services of Lawrence Shankland for another campaign. The skipper has already scored four goals this season in all competitions.
Stuart Findlay followed Derek McInnes from Rugby Park to the capital over the summer and has scored four goals this season, including a last-minute winner against Dundee United in Hearts’ last league outing.
Elijah Just has been included in the New Zealand squad for their double header in September.
New Zealand has two friendly matches lined up, facing Australia back-to-back.
The first match takes place on Friday 5 September, with the second match scheduled for Tuesday 9 September.
Just has 36 caps to his name already and will be looking to add next month.
With 1500 Motherwell fans making the trip to McDiarmid Park, there was a sense of optimism in the air as the Steelmen took on Championship leaders St Johnstone for a place in the quarter-final of the Premier Sports Cup.
Having reached the semi-final last season, Motherwell fans were dreaming of a return to Hampden, but the task would not be a simple one, with St Johnstone winning all their games so far this season in all competitions.
With both sides trying to keep the ball on the ground, the match made for a good watch, with both sides having chances.
After 90 minutes, the feeling for frustration was apparent within both camps as neither side could break the deadlock, and we would head into extra time. In the first period, more chances came for Motherwell, but nobody could convert.
As penalties loomed, up popped Lukas Fadinger with the big moment of the afternoon, curling the ball past the keeper to book a spot in the last eight.
Striker Callum Hendry has joined the club on a two-year deal from MK Dons for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.
The former St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen man is well-acquainted with Scottish football, having played over 100 games in the top-flight and domestic competitions.
“We are delighted to welcome Callum to Motherwell FC,” Jens Berthel Askou said.
“His energy, intelligence in finding space, and strong finishing qualities will bring real value and competition to our squad.
“Callum arrives with a wealth of experience from both the EFL and the Scottish Premiership. His positive character and professionalism make him an excellent fit for our culture.
“He joins us with great hunger and desire to make his mark, and we are excited to see him help drive the team forward. We look forward to getting him on the pitch and watching him contribute to our continued growth as a club.”
Hendry started out within the youth setup at Blackburn Rovers before moving north to St Johnstone in 2017. From then until 2022, Hendry represented the Saints 94 times, scoring 22 goals in all competitions.
During his stay in Perth, he went on loan to Aberdeen, Brechin City and Kilmarnock, scoring goals during his short stints at all clubs.
Having been recalled from a successful loan spell at Kilmarnock in January 2022, Hendry found the back of the net on eight occasions in 21 games, including a crucial finish in the final of the Premiership play-offs against Inverness CT that helped maintain St Johnstone’s Premiership status.
This form earned the forward a move to Salford City in the summer. During his two-year stay, he scored 23 times in less than 80 games for the club before moving to MK Dons in 2024. Scoring four goals in 32 games, he now moves back to Scotland to join up with Jens Berthel Askou and the rest of the squad.
“It’s great to be back in Scotland,” Callum Hendry said.
“This move has been in the offing for a while, and I’ve been really keen to get signed so I can focus on playing football. I know some of the guys in the dressing room, and everyone seems like really nice people around the place.
“I can now get a good week of work under my belt before Saturday’s game.”
