| 2 | Rangers | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 47 |
| 3 | Celtic | 23 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 45 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 43 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 35 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 33 |
Manager Jens Berthel Askou was pleased to see the loan deal for Stephen Welsh be finalised right before the deadline, and believes his return to the squad could play a big part in the final four months of the season.
The Motherwell Boss reveals there was late interest in star man Tawanda Maswanhise, but the club stood firm to keep their forward and everyone can now focus on the remainder of the season.
Stephen Welsh has returned to Fir Park on loan for the remainder of the season from Celtic.
The 26-year-old centre-back made his debut for the Steelmen in September and went on to make 17 appearances before being recalled in January.
“We welcome back Stephen with open arms, knowing that he has unfinished business to attend to here with us,” Jens Berthel Askou stated.
“The dialogue with Celtic has been good and transparent all the way through, and we are absolutely delighted that we found a solution that sends him back to Fir Park to continue his development with us.”
Rock solid at the heart of our defence, Welsh helped Motherwell keep seven clean sheets in eight games and played in the 1-1 draw at Easter Road before getting the call to return to Celtic.
Having gone back to his parent club, he featured against Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup and was a late substitute in Celtic’s win over Falkirk on Sunday.
But Welsh is now back in the claret and amber and will spend the rest of the season in ML1.
“It’s not been an ideal situation, but I’m so pleased there’s been a resolution,” Stephen Welsh said.
“I just want to play football, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here for the first half of the season. The staff, the players and the fans are all so aligned, and as a player, it’s the perfect environment to play your football in.
“I’ll need to work to get myself back into the team now. The boys have done unbelievably well since I’ve been gone, which has been great. I’m buzzing to get back here, and I can’t wait to pick up where I left off.”
Facing off against a side that hadn’t picked up a win in 23 games was always going to pile the pressure on the Steelmen to pick up a result against Livingston, but manager Jens Berthel Askou wanted his side to go up a gear compared to their last visit to West Lothian.
Calum Ward was called into action in the opening minutes to pull off a wonderful save to deny Livi an opener. From then on, however, Motherwell clicked into action, and amongst a barrage of chances, Tawanda Maswanhise was able to score a brace to put Motherwell firmly in the driving seat.
The second-half saw less action as the Steelmen controlled proceedings, ensuring their unbeaten run would continue in all competitions.
Motherwell kick off a busy February at Dens Park against Dundee on Wednesday 4 February.
Kick off is 7:45pm.
You can buy tickets online by clicking here.
| Category | Pricing |
| Adults | £25 |
| Over 65 & Student | £16 |
| Under 18 | £12 |
| Under 12 (must be accompanied by an adult) | £5 |
| Ambulant Disabled & Carer | £16 |
| Wheelchair & Carer | £16 |
Motherwell cruised to a 2-0 win over Livingston last time out. It’s now two losses in their last 17 matches and the Steelmen have registered 18 clean sheets in all competitions this campaign.
Tawanda Maswanhise moved to the top of the goalscoring charts in the Scottish Premiership, with the Zimbabwean international scoring his 12th and 13th league goals this season in the win on Saturday.
Elijah Just’s assist moved him joint top of the assist table for the league too, with the forward on six for the league season.
Dundee are ninth in the table following their 0-0 draw at St Mirren on Saturday. Stephen Pressley’s side have been in decent form, picking up four wins out of their last seven matches.
Defender Clark Robertson remains their top scorer on four goals this season. The Dark Blues have proved to be stiff competition for Jens Berthel Askou’s men this season. Although initially taking the lead at Dens in September, Dundee fought back in the second half to earn a point on home soil.
It took until the latter stages in the reverse fixture at Fir Park for Callum Slattery to find the breakthrough to earn a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Defender Orla Burn will return to the Scottish capital after being recalled by her parent club.
The Scotland youth international arrived in ML1 last summer, and became consistent first-team regular.
We thank Orla for her efforts at Motherwell and wish her all the best for the future.
The Steelmen’s emphatic unbeaten run of form continued in the outskirts of the Scottish capital, as the visitors cruised to their third consecutive victory.
Following last week’s convincing four-nil victory over Kilmarnock, Manager Jens Berthel Askou made one change to his starting XI.
Australian defender Johnny Koutroumbis returned at left-back in place of Emmanuel Longelo, with midfielder Sam Nicholson returning to the squad for the first time since February 2025 following a serious injury spell.
Motherwell led comfortably throughout, but the opening phase of the game could’ve drastically altered the course of the contest.
Experienced talisman Stevie May burst forward into the Motherwell final third before teeing up teammate Connor McLennan with an enticing delivery across the face of goal, but the Scotsman’s strike from close range forced a fine save from Calum Ward in the Motherwell goal.
Livingston’s frailties in the final third soon proved costly, as striker Tawanda Maswanhise continued his remarkable goalscoring form.
A prominent threat in the Motherwell frontline, Elijah Just carved out space in the right flank before floating a delicate delivery into the Livingston penalty area, and Maswanhise coolly diverted his header past Jerome Prior, wrong-footing the Frenchman for the opener.
Skipper Paul McGinn almost doubled the Steelmen’s lead in quick succession, but the hosts frantically scrambled clear his close-range header.
Motherwell continued to pile on the pressure, with Callum Slattery forcing Prior back into action, rifling a dangerous strike from long range.
Firmly in the ascendancy, the visitors soon put the encounter beyond doubt, with Maswanhise propelling himself to the top of the SPFL goalscoring table.
Just’s clipped through ball kindly fell into the path of Slattery, and the Englishman teed up Maswanhise, who calmly picked his spot before curling an excellent finish past Prior.
The second half welcomed a familiar face back into a Motherwell jersey, with Sam Nicholson making his long-awaited return to action following 350 days sidelined with a serious injury.
The Steelmen stood firm in the latter stages to extend their advantage in fourth in the Scottish Premiership table.
Motherwell Team: Ward, Sparrow, McGinn, O’Donnell, Koutroumbis, Fadinger, Priestman, Slattery, Said, Maswanhise, Just.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, McGhee, Gordon, Longelo, McAllister, Ross, Nicholson, Bjørgolfsson, Stamatelopoulos.
Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts as a first half double from Tawanda Maswanhise was enough to earn the Steelmen all three points in Livingston.
Jack McConnell has joined Cowdenbeath on loan.
Under our co-operation agreement with the Lowland League side, goalkeeper McConnell will join up with his Motherwell teammates Nathan Lawson and Scott Williamson ahead of their match against Linlithgow Rose in the Lowland League Cup.
“We’ve secured an opportunity for first-team match exposure for one more of our young talents through our co-oporation agreements,” Jens Berthel Askou explained.
“We’re hopeful that this will accelerate Jack’s development even further and look forward to following his progress there while keeping him in our environment a couple of times a week.”
Good luck, Jack.
Fir Park will be the venue for the Sky Sports Cup final once again this year.
The final will be contested on Sunday 29 March, with a 3pm kick-off.
Tickets will be sold in the John Hunter Stand initially. Pricing is:
You will be able to purchase tickets online in due course. Should tickets sell out in the John Hunter Stand, more seats will be made available.
Filip Stuparevic has left the club, with his contract being terminated by mutual agreement.
“Filip has had a hard time making an impact in the first team due to his long-term injury,” Jens Berthel Askou said.
“I’m happy for Filip that he will now get the chance to restart his football career somewhere else and wish him all the best going forward.”
The Serbian forward departs Fir Park having made four appearances for the club, scoring one goal.
Stuparevic suffered a serious knee injury in February last year whilst out on loan at Morton, where he scored six goals in 18 games, and spent a large period of time on sidelines following his return to Fir Park.
Both parties have now agreed that following his recovery from the injury, this would be the correct decision to allow Filip the opportunity to pursue opportunities elsewhere. We thank Filip for his efforts and wish him the very best for the future.
