Firstly may I thank the many fans that have contributed to the future of your club by attending games, booking function rooms and joining the ‘Well Society.
I would also like to thank the many sponsors, large and small, who believe in the club and believe we can add value to what they are trying to achieve.
Last and by no means least, I would like to thank the wonderful staff at Fir Park who have joined the Board of Directors in making the changes necessary to improve your historic club.
Since I became involved with your club in January this year, the Board and myself have continued to work to achieve our three main objectives:
1. Stay in the SPFL Premiership.
2. Make Motherwell Football Club self-sufficient.
3. Transition the club to full fan ownership via the ‘Well Society.
As you know, things were not good when I took over, or immediately before, as I had to put £30,000 into the club to pay the bills before the deal was completed.
After the balance of my interest free loan of £650,000 was provided to the club, we set about the task of securing additional players, due to some eleven first team players being injured, which we did in January and February.
It became clear my initial loan would not be sufficient to add to the squad and make the necessary changes in the non-football side of the club and I provided a further £380,000 interest free loan. I am pleased to say the club recently repaid £180,000 of this loan.
When investigating the high frequency of injuries, we found an opportunity to introduce a full time sports science coach which, we estimate could save the club over £100,000 in recurring medical bills, but would also avoid the need for such a large squad of players this season.
We introduced a UK-wide network of scouts, who use Scout7 software to identify and track potential young talent.
We brought the Under 20 management under the Football Manager’s direct control to ensure there was a path for young players into the first team. Also, we were very pleased when Stephen Craigan agreed to re-join the club in the very important role as Under 20 Coach. Your Board also took the opportunity to protect the club’s tradable assets by securing a number of our talented young players to long-term contracts.
We managed to do enough to retain our position in the SPFL Premiership via the exciting play off games, for this, the club’s anniversary season.
The new 2015/16 season started brightly with the win at Inverness, which I was lucky enough to attend, but over a number of weeks it became clear things had to change if we were to enjoy this special season.
After a rigorous selection process of reviewing some 80 applicants, the Football Committee made a recommendation to the Chairman and myself.
When I subsequently spoke to Mark McGhee, I was delighted to offer him the role as manager of your club.
I look forward to long and detailed discussions with Mark next week when he visits me at home. We will be reviewing all aspects of the football side to ensure we have clear strategies and plans to achieve our football objectives. I am very encouraged by recent performances but Mark and I know further work is required to build consistency.
Now turning to the non-football activities. Alan Burrows and his staff have been very busy and I would like to thank Alan personally for his long hours and continued efforts to make the improvements to your club.
Firstly, we wanted to make sure of your safety at Fir Park and spent a significant sum fireproofing the Phil O’Donnell Stand, which took many months and is now complete.
When testing the floodlights it was obvious they had to be improved to allow you a clear view of play but also provide for better TV coverage.
Next, we turned to the pitch and surrounding area which has consistently been one of the poorest in the league. So, prior to the summer we worked with the Sports Turf Research Institute to develop a plan to establish and then maintain a much better playing surface.
During the summer, recently-recruited Head Groundsman Paul Matthew and his staff worked with an outside contractor to make the necessary changes, which have made a huge difference to the pitch, and we introduced new AstroTurf along the perimeter of the playing area.
To improve revenue, we hired a new sales and marketing manager, Keith Campbell, and he has been working with existing staff and has increased function room revenue by over 22%. In addition, Diane Harvey has recently secured long-term contracts for commercial use of most of the South Stand boxes and the Cooper Suite.
We are currently working on a new website, which will more accurately reflect the three pillars of the club: The MFC Community Trust, The ‘Well Society and obviously the club itself. You will see this rolling out in the coming weeks.
Our next project is to improve our communication with everyone who makes contact with any of the three pillars by creating a single database which will be much easier to manage than the current six and make the customer experience much simpler.
Also, I am pleased to say we are finalising our plans for the clubs 130th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of winning the Scottish Cup in 1991. There will be a range of events leading up to the big days later this season, which we will announce shortly.
I hope this information is helpful and you join me in thanking your Board for giving up so much time and energy to undertake this work for free.
The club is making good progress toward our objectives. You, the fans, can do your bit by joining the ‘Well Society for as little as £2.50 per week to make your dream a reality
I would ask you to support the Society as much as you can… It’s YOUR club! CLICK HERE for more information or to join the ‘Well Society.
Regards,
Les Hutchison
Vice Chairman and Majority Shareholder
Motherwell FC
