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Tony Watt is our Paycare player of the month for October.

The striker netted three goals as the team’s standout performer across the month, a haul which already makes this season his most prolific while playing for a Scottish side.

Watt makes it three awards in a row, having also been named as the top player in August and September.

Graham Alexander previews the weekend trip north in the cinch Premiership.

Unfortunately, many in our local area are forced to rely on food banks to help them eat.

A host of local organisations do incredible work to ensure those in need can get help and – as a club – we were determined to help by calling on our supporters to bring what they could to a collection ahead of our recent game with Celtic.

Our fans rallied in huge numbers, providing hundreds of bags of food.

Charity and helping others is also in the heart of our striker Tony Watt, a local boy who knows he is in a fortunate position as a footballer and is motivated to ensure others get a fair shot at a good life.

With some late collections from fans and from the playing squad, Tony visited Motherwell’s Maranatha Food Bank to drop off more supplies and find out more about the work going in.

Juhani Ojala is in the Finland selection for their crucial FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

The defender’s national team take on Bosnia away on 13 November, before hosting France three days later.

Finland sit a point off second-placed Ukraine – who have played a game more – and four behind group leaders France.

The group winners qualify automatically for the tournament in Qatar, with the runners-up going into the play-off.

Ojala has been capped 31 times by his country, and was in the last selection for their October matches.

Stephen O’Donnell is in the Scotland squad for their crucial FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

The national team head to face Moldova on Friday 12 November, before a home clash with group leaders Denmark on Monday 15 November.

Steve Clarke’s side stands on the cusp of clinching a play-off berth for the 2022 World Cup, knowing a win in either of their final two group stage fixtures will guarantee their spot.

There is no spot in the squad for ‘Well goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who drops out of the selection having been in the previous two squads.

Motherwell are on the road to Aberdeen on Saturday in the cinch Premiership.

Kick-off at Pittodrie is at 3pm.

Tickets

A cash turnstile will be in operation on the day.

Prices are as follows.

• Adults: £26
• Over 65s: £20
• Over 75s: £16
• 18-21s: £16
• Under 18s: £12
• Under 12s: £6

Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.

Vaccine certification is not required for this fixture.

Watch live

The match is available to buy on pay-per-view from Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Ireland for £13.99

To buy, head to ppv.afc.co.uk.

Due to UEFA restrictions, the game can not be sold in England.

International viewers can watch through our subscription service at live.motherwellfc.co.uk. Packages start at as little as £12.50 per month to watch all 38 cinch Premiership fixtures.

Tale of the tape

Motherwell won the first encounter between the two teams this season, with Kevin van Veen and Juhani Ojala netting in a 2-0 win at Fir Park.

Aberdeen were the victors in the last meeting at Pittodrie, winning 2-0 in January.

Form guide

After seven league games without a win, which brought five consecutive defeats, the Dons have bounced back in recent weeks.

Their run of defeats was stopped by a 1-0 home win over Hibernian. That was followed by a 2-2 draw at Rangers, before a 2-1 victory over previously undefeated Hearts at Pittodrie at the weekend.

Motherwell’s 6-1 loss to Rangers made it five league games without a win, a run which has yielded one draw and four defeats.

“We aren’t going to feel sorry for ourselves. We are going to work hard and make sure we give a better account of ourselves than we did today.”

Motherwell led but ultimately crashed to a 6-1 loss at home to Rangers.

An early goal and hopes of shocking the league leaders quickly disappeared as the Ibrox men grabbed two crucial goals before the break, before going on to run rampant in the second jalf.

Some brave home defending almost held out until the interval but a quick double from James Tavernier and Fashion Sakala gave Gers the lead and the initiative they never looked like relinquishing.

Sakala grabbed his second before O’Donnell’s sending off left ‘Well struggling to keep the Ibrox men at bay. Further goals from Glen Kamara, Sakala and Kemar Roofe inflicted defeat.

The ‘Well boss made three changes from the side which shared the points with St Mirren in midweek. Juhani Ojala failed to recover from his groin injury, allowing Bevis Mugabi to partner Sondre Solholm in the centre of the home defence. Mark O’Hara was recalled to the midfield while up front, Jordan Roberts swapped places with Kaiyne Woolery.

Rangers looked eager to make amends for allowing Motherwell to leave Ibrox with a point last month and were on the front foot from the kick-off.

After three minutes Tavernier gave Liam Kelly his first touch but his shot from 20 yards was easily held by the ‘Well ‘keeper.

The Ibrox side were comfortable in possession until Connor Goldson needlessly conceded a corner in the 12th minute.

Callum Slattery and Sean Goss worked their short corner routine and when the cross found Solholm, his downward header forced Allan McGregor to throw himself across his goal to keep the ball out.

The Rangers’ ‘keeper had no protection when Mugabi latched on to the loose ball and from the tightest of angles fired the ball into the far corner to give ‘Well a 12th-minute lead.

After that, though, the Fir Park centre backs spent most of the first half deep inside their own penalty box as Gers buzzed around the home box searching for an equaliser.

A stream of crosses were repelled by the home defence but with no out ball to relieve the pressure, Kelly’s goal was placed under almost constant threat, although the ‘keeper was expertly protected until 28th minute.

Joe Aribo worked a quick exchange with Steven Davis at the edge of the box but his final shot was blocked by Kelly’s palms.

On the half-hour mark, the Steelmen made a rare foray into the visitor’s box and almost doubled their lead. Slattery’s long ball picked out Stephen O’Donnell on the right.

His nod allowed Connor Shields to send Roberts to the byline and his cutback was destined for the inrushing Tony Watt, who under pressure from Tavernier, could only slide the ball wide of McGregor’s goal.

A careless pass from Watt then gave possession to Alfredo Morelos. Although he struck his drive from 30 yards quite solidly it was a good height for Kelly to palm over his crossbar.

Then, just when ‘Well’s rearguard action was going to hold out until half-time, Rangers hit them with a double inside three minutes.

Tavernier played a captain’s role to force his side ahead. Three minutes from the break, the Rangers’ full-back made the most of Bassey’s crossfield pass, taking the ball on the volley to drive it low into the net for a fabulous finish.

Before the home defence could recover from that blow, Tavernier’s cross from the right found Sakala rising between O’Donnell and Mugabi to power his header past Kelly from six yards to make it 2-1 at the break.

Although Ranger’ started the second half where they left off, Motherwell enjoyed their best spell of play towards McGregor’s goal before conceding a third to kill off any chance of a comeback.

There seemed little danger as Sakala cut in from the left and his finishing shot posed no great threat to Kelly until the ball took a deflection off Goss to wrong foot the ‘keeper to make 3-1.

Alexander made an immediate substitution sending on Kevin van Veen but before the Dutch striker got a touch of the ball, ‘Well were reduced to 10 men when O’Donnell picked up his second yellow card.

Roberts was then sacrificed for Ricki Lamie as the ‘Well boss aimed to make it damage limitation for the final 20 minutes.

With Rangers’ fans behind Kelly’s goal demanding more, though, that was never to be the case.

Fifteen minutes from time, a Rangers’ corner was worked out to Kamara and his low drive from 30 yards whizzed through a packed box and past an unsighted Kelly to make it 4-1 to the visitors.

Zambian striker Sakala then grabbed his hat-trick chasing a long ball to clip it past Kelly from two yards.

Then, in injury time, Roofe turned Simpson’s header over the line to complete the scoring and Motherwell’s misery.

Over the years there have been plenty of examples to back up the theory that you must be a certain level of crazy to be a goalkeeper.

As supporters, we have been captivated by the antics of the likes of Fabien Barthez, Jorge Campos and Rene Higuita. Plus, who could forget ‘Well legend Sieb Dijkstra?

Though it seems like times are changing.

Motherwell and Scotland keeper Liam Kelly’s personality could not be further removed from the names mentioned above. A cool and composed figure on and off the pitch, the 25-year-old prefers to take a more laid-back approach over berating his defence.

His methods seem to be paying off. In the first three months of the new campaign, Kelly has continued the sparkling form he demonstrated during his loan spell at Fir Park last season, producing several big performances and captaining the Steelmen in the absence of Stephen O’Donnell.

“I just want to be a normal guy,” Kelly said. “I’m quite relaxed off the pitch and try to be composed in everything that I do.

“For me to go on the pitch and start shouting and bawling, that’s not what I’m like.

“On the pitch, I’ll try to speak normally and give clear instructions from what the manager has said before the game. Of course, there are times that you will need to shout, but I never speak negatively or get on anyone’s back if they make a mistake.

“The crazy goalkeeper thing, I suppose it comes down to each person’s personality, you get very calm goalkeepers, and you get ones who are a bit crazy.

“It’s only a game of football at the end of the day. You’ll probably be going home to do the same thing no matter what the score is. I go out there and give everything I’ve got, if that’s good enough then amazing, if it isn’t on that day you’ve got to move on to the next game and try again.

“When I’m shouting it’s to be positive and to encourage. If I’m speaking to the centre backs then I’ll not have to raise my voice. Obviously the further away the player is on the pitch, the louder I need to be.

“I try not to be generic or waffle for the sake of it. That’s the last thing I want. I hate it myself when I hear players shouting the same generic rubbish that’s having no effect on the actual match.”

After his superb displays during his loan spell in the second half of last season saw him scoop the club’s Players’ Player of the Year award, Motherwell fans were desperate to see Kelly sign a permanent deal at Fir Park.

In early July they would get their wish as the keeper signed on a permanent basis, joining from Queen’s Park Rangers on a three-year deal.

It was a signing that was hailed as a real coup for the Steelmen. But it was a decision that the keeper says came easy – dismissing the notion that swapping the English Championship for the Scottish Premiership was in any way a backwards step.

“If I was going back to Queen’s Park Rangers I was going back as a number two to a good goalkeeper there,” he added. “For Motherwell to give me the opportunity to come and play was great and took me a step towards where I want to get to.

“I know the process at Motherwell, how the manager works and how the staff are. I really liked the plan sold to me by the manager. Returning here is a chance for me to progress and get better. That was the main driving force in me coming back to the club in the summer, he told me where I fitted in to his plans.

“From the minute I walked in the door at Fir Park I felt welcome, everyone couldn’t have been more helpful. I also get on great with my goalkeeping coach Craig Hinchliffe too, he is one of the top goalkeeping coaches in the country.

“I knew that coming back here I’d be happy, settled and would enjoy coming to my work every day.”

Having continually performed brilliantly between the sticks for Motherwell, it came as little surprise when Steve Clarke rewarded Liam’s displays with a call-up to the Scotland squad for the fixtures against Denmark, Moldova, and Austria.

It was the first time he had been included in the squad since 2019 and he was selected again for the October encounters with Israel and the Faroe Islands, in which the Scots took massive strides towards earning a World Cup play-off place.

With caps at every level from Under 16 through to Under 21, a full Scotland cap is still the one accolade missing from Kelly’s international CV, and he is determined to keep pushing towards the goal of making his debut for the national team.

He also admits the chance to play a part in helping Scotland to their first World Cup in almost a quarter of a century would be a dream.

“The atmosphere inside the Scotland camp is amazing,” he explained. “It’s a real pleasure and joy to go work with these guys.

“Ultimately you want to stay in the squad and the only way to do that is by playing well for your club – that’s the most important thing.

“The manager has a great relationship with the players and there’s a massive element of trust there, it’s a really great place to be a part of. It helps that the results have been good recently, but even after the Denmark game when we lost 2-0 we never got too low – the manager was very calm and level-headed. That made a huge difference in us picking up big wins in the games that followed.

“I love going away with Scotland and I love playing with Motherwell. My main target is to keep doing well for the club and to stay into the Scotland squad for as long as I can.

“Going to the World Cup would be amazing. It’s something that many unbelievable players haven’t managed to do. If I was ever so lucky enough to get the opportunity, it would be the best thing that has happened to my career and probably ever would happen.

“There’s still a long way to go though, and we have to take it one step at a time. I’m not daft, I’ve got enough awareness to know that Craig Gordon is playing unbelievably well and I’m a big fan of how he plays. It’s not a surprise to me to see him playing so well at Hearts and the position of him playing for Scotland is totally justified.

“You are only with Scotland for such a short period of time, but I think we’ve pushed him hard in training and Craig continues to play out of his skin. Long may that continue for the benefit of the country.”

With the experience of having played over 150 professional games and being involved with the national team, Kelly is well placed to offer advice to the young goalkeepers at Fir Park.

The 18-year-old Matty Connelly is currently out on loan with Gretna 2008, while PJ Morrison has had spells with Ayr, Falkirk, Cowdenbeath, Clyde and Albion Rovers.

Liam is no stranger to having gone out on loan to build his experience, having had time out on loan at East Fife and Livingston while he was at Rangers, as well as his five months with ‘Well at the end of last season.

He credits those moves as being crucial for his development and believes that both Connelly and Morrison have bright futures ahead of them.

“I’ve said this to Matty and PJ on a number of occasions, you are better playing at a lower level than not playing at the highest level,” he explained. “If you aren’t playing then people don’t know anything about you, they don’t see what you can do.

“You are better just playing games, no matter what level presents itself and whatever level you are meant to be playing at, that’ll work out itself based on your performances and ability.

“Matty is above the level he is playing at just now in my opinion and that’s been clear by his performances. Unfortunately, he’s picked up a really bad injury, but he’ll be back from that no problem knowing what type of character he is.

“PJ is a brilliant keeper with a lot of attributes that will help him play in the Premiership when he is a bit older. He just needs to get some games under his belt.

“It’s so important, as you get older you get used to the environment of a first-team dressing room and a key factor in that is racking up the games. Matty is doing that just now and PJ did it early on in his career, he’s sort of stuck just now as he’s third-choice keeper and is required here, but he trains hard every day and by that, I mean at a top, top level.

“The goalkeeping department at Motherwell is in a good place, we just need to keep trying to push each other. Everyone is fighting for the number one jersey and I’m aware of that. It is strong competition and that’s something that I enjoy.”

Competition and footballing talent is something that seems to run throughout the Kelly family, with Liam’s older brother Sean playing for Livingston and his 14-year-old sibling on the books of St Mirren as a goalkeeper.

Earlier this season, Liam and Sean had their first-ever meeting in a competitive fixture as Motherwell edged out Livingston 2-1 at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

Although he was pleased that his team claimed victory on the day, the ‘Well stopper confesses that given his time with the Lothian club, fixtures against Livingston bring with them mixed emotions.

“I think that’s the first time it has happened in a professional game, I previously played against him when I was at Rangers and he was at Queen’s Park,” Kelly recalled. “When we play Livingston it’s the only time that I want them to lose, I’ve got such a strong connection with the club and the staff there. I’m never that high if I get a win against Livi.

“In terms of my brother, I was delighted to see him play in Livingston’s win at Ross County. He had a positive impact in a great result for them. It’s the first result I look out for after our own games.

“Hopefully he can stay in the team and help them push up the table. You just want to see your family do well.”

As we approach a hectic run of fixtures between now and the end of the year, Kelly is looking forward to trying to help ‘Well move up the league table.

In his typically relaxed nature, he is keen to stress the importance of not looking too far ahead, though he is determined to continue to play a big role at the club and reward the fans for their support.

“Motherwell have been really good to me, and I think I’ve been good for Motherwell too. Ultimately I want that relationship to continue.

“That’s the only thing I’m in control of now, I control how I train and if the manager picks me, then I have control of how I play in the matches.

“I’m not trying to look too far ahead and say I’m going to do this and do that. That’s not my character at all. I want to do well at the things that I control and everything after that is a bonus.

“I’m absolutely delighted the fans are back, we all want to make them as happy as possible. We have had some good results so far and now we need to get back to picking up wins and kicking on to finish as high up in the table as possible.”

By Andy Ross

Eleven games into season 2021/22, Motherwell have completed the first round of cinch Premiership fixtures.

The opening games have been nothing short of dramatic, with big wins, frustrating defeats, controversial decisions and fans’ favourite Liam Grimshaw finally scoring his first career goal.

But despite everything that’s happened on the pitch, it will be most fondly remembered for the noise, colour and atmosphere the fans have generated in the stands.

After a full season locked out due to COVID-19, the supporters have made a huge difference to the match day experience this season.

The Steelmen end round one sitting sixth in the table on 15 points from a possible 33, and there’s no time to stop.

Next up, they face league leaders Rangers as the second round gets underway.