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Ladies Team
Motherwell Ladies secured an emphatic win last weekend, beating Bishopton 7-0 at home and giving boss Graeme McArthur the perfect birthday present.
Bishopton did well to hold off an early onslaught of Motherwell attacks and created a good few chances themselves, however it was the hosts who opened the scoring after twenty minutes. Bishopton, despite some great linking play, were unable to come up with a response and the ‘Well ladies grew in confidence, creating chances into the double figures. At 7-0, Graeme McArthur was happy with the result, but both he and his players know a better standard of play will be demanded of them next season.
Graeme said: “I’m delighted to continue our undefeated run in the league with a strong 7-0 victory, however there are improvements that require to continually be made as we are always looking to better ourselves.
“It was good to see our midfielders chip in with goals as well as well as Pamela Liddell, whose scoring record continues with goals in every game she has played this season.
“As a midfield unit, we were better in terms of controlling the game and it was great to see Toni Mason back in a Motherwell shirt, which I felt gave the team a lift with her presence and work rate.
“We now look forward to the Stranraer game this weekend having scored 15 goals in our last two games, despite introducing a new shape away from how we have set up for most of the season.
“We are now at the tail end of our inaugural season as a club and the final three games will allow us to try different things with a view to the next campaign.
“It’s important we finish the season strongly to give us a platform to kick on again next season with the squad we have built this year. I’d also like to give a mention to my assistant Chris Steele, goalkeeping coach Wes McQuarrie and physio Caitlin Whitson, who have been fantastic not only for me but for the club overall and I’m really pleased to have them on board.”
The Ladies have performed well in their last seven games, so far achieving their target of not losing any remaining fixtures, set to them by McArthur. With three games to go, Graeme continues to have has high expectations and every player is fully aware of what is expected not only at training, but also come match day.
“The girls have responded well to the challenge set, however we still have three games to go and there is no room for complacency. After that, we look to the close of season.
“The winter shutdown will allow us to work hard to improve our technical, tactical and physical attributes, whilst building a strong mentality to go on and challenge for promotion, which is our overall aim. The introduction of the new Under 17s squad will no doubt benefit us and give us an even bigger squad pool, with the opportunity for younger players who are progressing to come in with the senior team to train and be involved in games when required.”
On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to wish Graeme a very Happy Birthday.
If you haven’t had a chance to get along and watch this season, there are only a few games left. Why not bring the family and pop down to Daisy Park (at Cathedral Primary) this Sunday to watch the ladies play against Stranraer. It is a 2pm KO and entry to the park is free!
Under 9s
The Under 9s were in action at K Park last weekend. The girls, as always, worked extremely hard in their games and came away with a mixed bag of results.
A win against Gartcairn saw the young Steel girls off to a flyer, but unfortunately the next two games saw much tougher opposition and both games resulted in a loss, firstly to East Kilbride and then to Hamilton Accies.
Unlucky girls, heads up and focus on the next challenge, good luck this weekend when you are back at the K Park, Sunday 12th October, 12noon -1.30pm
Under 11s
It was a tough lesson to learn for our Under 11s squad at the weekend. Despite a hard-fought effort against an older team, and Motherwell’s keeper suffering with illness and having to miss the match, the girls saw an 11-0 defeat to Central.
However, as ever, the Motherwell philosophy of hard work, grit and determination has kicked in and the girls have arranged a re-match this weekend, Saturday 11th October at Fir Park Astro, 11.30am KO.
It should be a good one to watc; your support on the sidelines is welcome as always. We hope to see some of you there, cheering on our girls.
Name: Graeme McArthur
Age: 27
Position within the club: Community Programme Manager, Ladies Team Manager and Youth Academy Coach.
Football qualifications: UEFA B Licence, SFA Advanced Children’s Licence.
How many years have you been coaching: This is my 11th year.
Previous managerial job roles: Elite Academy coaching roles with various age groups.
Were you involved as a player before taking on a managerial role at Motherwell FC: No, I was never good enough!
How long have you been at Motherwell FC: From six-years old! I previously attended community programmes before progressing on to coaching.
How did you get involved with the club: I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh Award and was encouraged by a coach, who is a PE Teacher and massive Motherwell fan, Stevie Odger, who used to work at the Community’s “Saturday Club” programme to give coaching a go and it pretty much went from there.
What impresses you the most about the set up at Motherwell FC: I would say the overall vision of what we want to collectively achieve. From the young ones coming in after school through to our first team, the hunger and desire to be involved in this environment and the happiness which it can bring.
Have you always had an interest in women’s football: Yes, I got involved back in 2008 when I took the girls Under 17s. I then also was the assistant coach to regional squad Under 19s for a season in 2011.
Are you impressed with the level of ability within the Scottish women’s game: Very impressed, especially with the squad I am working with. We have some very technically proficient players who are tactically sound and eager to learn and play the way we want to as a club.
Who’s coaching style do you admire the most: I’ve been lucky to have worked with, and been around, some excellent coaches within the Elite Academy at the club, and have certainly picked up some pointers from them. I think it’s unfair to pinpoint one coach I would admire the most due to the different methods and styles I’ve seen.
How would you describe your coaching style: I’d probably leave that for the players to describe! I like to think I put demands on players and always look to see the positives and get the best out of them, but at the same time I’m sure you’d agree I’m quick to tell you when it’s not good enough and doesn’t match the standards that I demand!
What inspired you to accept the managerial role at the women’s team: The challenge of getting the club to where we want to be and working with senior players again after coaching Elite Academy Under 11s and 12s the last few seasons.
This is Motherwell Ladies first competitive season, how do you feel it has gone: Fairly well considering we have had a lot of changes in coaching staff and playing personnel since I started working with the squad. The level of player we have to work with ranges from some excellent youngsters to more experienced Premier League players and the balance is about right now. Initially there was a lot of inexperience in competitive football, but we have acted on this and turned it around to the levels and standards we require. Performance wise there are more wins than defeats and draws on the board so that can only be seen as a positive.
What targets have you set your team for the remainder of the season: We lost our first game back after the summer break and I set the players a challenge to not lose for the rest of the season. We have since went seven on the bounce without losing, winning five and drawing two. If we can finish our last three games without a defeat, the target set will have been achieved.
I’m sure you have a rigorous pre-season plan for the girls, any chance you can give us a sneak peak of what’s to come: Haha, I don’t want to waste it for those reading! No, we will do a lot of conditioning work over the course of pre season as I feel we can certainly improve our fitness levels. It’s also my intention to work on a couple of different systems of play so that we are proficient in playing different ways for different games and any adjustments we may need during a game can be done smoothly.
What are your aspirations for next season: Promotion is obviously something we want to achieve and a Cup run would be nice in both the Divisional and the Scottish, as this is something we didn’t do too well in this year.
Chris Steele is your Assistant coach, what makes you such a great partnership: I met Chris over a year ago by chance in Largs when I was doing my B Licence Intro and he was over doing the assessment and had lunch with him. I was surprised when his CV landed on my desk a year later. We take a lot of time to discuss what we want to achieve within our week of work with the squad, detailing everything from our training plans down to how we will approach our next fixture. Nothing is left to chance as the more organised we are, the more organised our team will be, something I feel to be of massive importance. We view the game in similar ways and both want to be working at the highest level possible with this set of players.
Do you both have similar aims and targets for the team in the coming 2016 season: Absolutely, we are already planning for next season, how we will approach everything from pre season, our Christmas programme and starting to make plans for pre-season friendlies, which will set us up for the start of the season. We have targets for training, session to session, weekly targets and an overall target for the season and I believe we have the ability to carry them out at the club.
I imagine you eat, sleep and breathe football, can you give us some insight into what goes into coaching the women’s team: Planning, preparation and performance. It annoys me when we can be better or if something isn’t right in my eyes. You do take your work home with you at times but I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing. I see at as wanting to be the best and not settling for doing just ok. We have some big personalities at the club, but they are very much focused on being as successful as possible and that is why they are playing here, they can see what we see, they want to be what we want to be and want to achieve this. We structure our sessions based on what we feel needs improving from the weekend and then set about how we are going to achieve our targets, so there’s the planning and preparation part. From there performance both in training and on the field of play is analysed by the coaching staff and we come up with our recommendations, so it is very cyclical our way of working. It’s good to work this way as it keeps us on our toes and constantly looking for the next improvement to be made.
What are your personal aspirations as a coach, where do you want to be in 5 years time: Working at as high a level as possible, I have my own personal goals but I don’t like to share them unfortunately!
Personally I am a fan of motivational quotes. For all your squad players reading this, what quote would you like to dedicate to them for the remainder of this season and into the next: “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start being great”. It sums up what I want from this group of players to take forward into next season and beyond.
Thank you Graeme for taking the time to speak with me and giving the readers an insight into Motherwell Ladies FC. Good luck to you and your squad, we are all behind you for the remainder of this season and into next. Let’s hope the hard work, dedication and desire you, your staff and your squad has will see that move up the leagues quickly.
