| 2 | Celtic | 34 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 70 |
| 3 | Rangers | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 34 | 69 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 57 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 33 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 51 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | -5 | 46 |
Emmanuel Longelo discusses the impact manager Jens Berthel Askou has had on the players in the squad, and how he has managed to maintain a great relationship with the full squad.
Longelo talks about ‘having a target on our backs’ and explain what he thinks Dundee will be like on Saturday.
Manager Jens Berthel Askou says his team have come to terms with the expectation that often rides on their shoulders, and says the players have to learn to deal with that pressure.
Askou discusses January transfer window plan, team news and how important every match is in the William Hill Premiership.
Tawanda Maswanhise and Zimbabwe are gearing up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco.
This will be the Warriors’ first appearance at the major tournament since 2021, and they are heading into the tournament with new manager Mario Marinică, who was appointed the new head coach in November and has previous success at this tournament, guiding Malawi to the round of 16 at the 2021/22 Africa Cup of Nations.
Zimbabwe have never made it out of the group stage at AFCON and will be looking to achieve this for the first time this month. They are in Group B alongside tournament second favourites Egypt. They will also face Angola and South Africa, with Zimbabwe massive outsiders to win the tournament.
The top two in each group will qualify for the last 16, with the four best third-placed teams also advancing to the next stage.
Maswanhise and Zimbabwe face Egypt on Monday 22 December, at the Adrar Stadium. They will then take on Angola on Boxing Day at the Marrakech Grand Stadium in what looks like will be a crucial match for their qualification hopes.
The group-stage action will conclude on Monday 29 December for Zimbabwe when they take on South Africa at Marrakech Grand Stadium.
We have a number of players out on loan at present. Here’s how they have been getting on.
Ewan Wilson has played four times since our last loan report with Raith Rovers. The young defender was subbed on against Alloa Athletic in the Scottish Cup and also played the last ten minutes against St Johnstone in the league, before coming on for the last six minutes against Ross County.
Wilson played the full 90 minutes against Hamilton in the KDM Evolution Trophy, with Rovers advancing to the next round thanks to a 5-2 win.
Dougie Imrie is the new Raith Rovers manager following Barry Robson’s departure last month.
Scott Williamson is now up to 15 appearances for Cowdenbeath, with the 18-year-old playing five games since our last update.
Those four appearances were all starts, with Williamson playing the full 90 minutes in all matches.
Cowdenbeath won two and drew one match and lost two. Those results keep Cowdenbeath in the middle of the table on 26 points.
Olly Whyte has also played a further five matches for Stenhousemuir, three in the league, one in the KDM Evolution Trophy and one in the Scottish Cup. Whyte has now passed the 20 appearances mark for the Warriors this season.
Stenhousemuir suffered just their second league defeat of the season against East Fife last month, before Whyte and Stenny drew with Hamilton. The midfielder started both of those matches. He came on in the second-half against Montrose where the Warriors lost 3-0.
Stenhousemuir remain in the hunt for the top spot, with just eight points separating the top five in League One.
Whyte then played the final 17 minutes in the Scottish Cup against Clachnacuddin, where Stenhousemuir won 4-1. Whyte’s featured against Annan Athletic in the KDM Evolution Trophy, where Stenny advanced to the next round thanks to a 2-0 win.
There have been four more appearances for Nathan Lawson at Cowdenbeath over the last month.
The forward started in the 2-1 win over Celtic B, where Lawson got an assist. He also played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Hearts B last weekend, before starting in the 1-0 defeat to Linlithgow Rose midweek. His most recent outing came against Bonnyrigg Rose, where Cowdenbeath lost 3-2. Lawson played 81 minutes and registered an assist.
Motherwell kicked off the month of November with a huge Premier Sports Cup semi-final match against St Mirren at Hampden. Looking to reach a domestic cup final for the first time since 2018.
Preparations couldn’t have been better, but the day at Hampden would be filled with heartbreak for anyone associated with Motherwell Football Club.
Despite this first big setback under Jens Berthel Askou, the team picked themselves up off the canvas to face Aberdeen for the third time this season.
Following the final international break of 2025, Motherwell kicked off a hectic schedule. Playing three games in the space of ten days, this run could be the difference between a good or bad season, and the Steelmen had to give it everything.
Motherwell play their penultimate home match of 2025 against Dundee on Saturday 20 December.
Kick off is 3pm at Fir Park.
You can buy tickets online here.
| Hunter Stand | O’Donnell, Cooper, McLean Stand | |
| Adults | £25 | £27 |
| (Over 65/ FT Student/ 18-21) | £21 | £21 |
| Young Adults (13-17) | £12 | £12 |
| 12 and under | £6 | £6 |
On Match days, the Ticket Office is open from 11am – the ticket office is open until kick-off with no pay gate facility.
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.
The Motherwell BBs will be raising money via bucket collection.
We have been granted a licence by North Lanarkshire Council for the controlled sale of alcohol at this match between 1:30pm and 2:30pm.
These sales will be managed in full accordance with licensing regulations, with appropriate security and stewarding measures in place. The aim of this initiative is to explore how a managed approach to alcohol sales can contribute to a positive and safe matchday experience.
We’d like to remind supporters that alcohol may only be consumed within clearly designated areas and not in sight of the pitch, and all activity will be confined to clearly designated and monitored areas. Regular matchday safety protocols remain unchanged.
We hope this will add to the enjoyment of the matchday experience for supporters, and we appreciate your cooperation and support as we participate in this limited trial. We will provide further updates ahead of each fixture.
For queries, contact: Suzanne.Reid@motherwellfc.co.uk.
Motherwell extended their unbeaten run to nine matches on Saturday at Tannadice. It was also the Steelmen’s fifth consecutive clean sheet in the league, a record last achieved back in February 2010.
Tawanda Maswanhise has set off for Morocco as he prepares to represent Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations.
This has been a very competitive fixture in recent times. In the last six matches, both Motherwell and Dundee have two wins each.
Dundee are currently tenth in the Scottish Premiership after 17 games. They have one win in their last eight outings.
The goals have been spread out amongst Steven Pressley’s squad, with defender Clark Robertson the current Dundee top scorer on four goals.
The Steelmen have coped with the busy festive period to this stage, and as they travelled to Tannadice Park looking to continue that run, they were met with a robust Dundee United side.
Jim Goodwin’s team were winless in five going into this match and proved tough to break down. With some half chances squandered, neither team had the prolific touch to win the match for their team.
In the end, it was Motherwell’s fifth consecutive clean sheet in the league, the first time they had achieved the feat since 2010. Extending their unbeaten run to nine games, Jens Berthel Askou’s side will look to go one better next weekend.
Motherwell had to settle for a point from Tannadice, coming away with a 0-0 draw.
The Steelmen secured their fifth clean sheet in a row and had the bulk of the possession, but neither side could carve out any definitive chances to take all three points.
There were three changes to the Motherwell team at Tannadice Park. Stephen Welsh, Callum Hendry and Callum Slattery all returned to the starting 11; Regan Charles-Cook, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Liam Gordon dropped down to the bench.
With Motherwell looking to extend their unbeaten run to nine games, which would be the first time since April 2013, and also aiming to keep a fifth consecutive clean sheet for the first time since February 2010, the Steelmen lined up for kick off looking to take control of possession early on.
Slattery’s cross found the head of Hendry, but his effort was easy for Dundee United keeper Richards.
Jens Berthel Askou’s plans were dealt a blow just 17 minutes in, after a clash of heads between Elliot Watt and Stephen Welsh, with the defender coming off worst and having to be replaced by Liam Gordon.
United had a decent opportunity after a long ball over the top found Max Watters, who took a great touch which almost let him in behind, but thankfully his next touch played it out of the park.
The first shot on target came on the stroke of half-time as United broke forward, but Zach Sapsford’s shot was routine for Calum Ward.
Motherwell were next to threaten as half-time edged closer. Some good play down the right led to the Steelmen’s first shot on target, but Maswanhise’s low shot was easily gathered by Richards.
United started the second half with two good chances, both for Amar Fatah. First, the ball broke to him at the back post, and Gordon was on hand to block. Secondly, he drove forward from deep and saw his shot flash just wide of the target after cutting inside from the left-wing.
Well looked to respond as Callum Slattery worked his way across the box, but his shot back across goal drifted past the post, but Motherwell were upping the tempo.
Craig Sibbald intercepted and attempted an audacious shot from the halfway line as he looked to catch Ward off his line, but the lobbed shot went narrowly past the post.
Callum Hendry was next to have a go, but his snapshot was palmed to safety by Richards, who was the livelier of the two keepers. Stephen O’Donnell sent a searching curling pass up the right-hand channel that found substitute Apostolos Stamatelopoulos; from a tight angle, he tried to find the bottom corner but couldn’t keep his effort on target.
Motherwell’s best move of the second-half saw good build-up play on the right-hand side lead to a cutback to Slattery on the edge of the box, but the Englishman smashed his strike over the bar.
Motherwell Team: Ward, O’Donnell, McGinn, Welsh, Koutroumbis, Watt, Fadinger, Slattery, Just, Hendry, Maswanhise.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, Longelo, Gordon, Sparrow, Priestman, Ross, Stamatelopoulos, Said, Charles-Cook.
Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts on a goalless afternoon in Dundee.
Calum Ward has signed a new contract with the club that will see him remain at Fir Park until the summer of 2027, with the club holding the option of a further year.
“Calum has really taken his chance this season and shown fantastic progression since the summer,” Jens Berthel Askou explained.
“He has all the qualities we are looking for in a goalkeeper, and on top of that, he is extremely passionate about learning and improving under Neil Alexander’s guidance. His quality and composure in the build-up have been of massive importance to us, and lately he has had more and more decisive moments denying big chances for the opposition.
“Seven clean sheets in the league so far this season indicate a very strong relationship between the goalkeeper and the players in front of him, and I’m really happy that we can now build on that going forward.”
Ward arrived in February 2025 in the middle of a goalkeeping crisis. Not making an appearance for the club during the 2024/25 season, he extended his stay in the summer as he looked to compete with Aston Oxborough for the number one jersey.
With Oxborough sidelined, Ward moved up to first-choice and has since gone on to achieve ten clean sheets in all competitions this season, in 21 games. His style of play has suited perfectly the Jens Berthel Askou system, and he has committed to the project by signing this extension.
“Results have been going well, and performances have been strong,” Calum Ward said.
“I think the whole club and community come together constantly, and you can feel that as a player. We as players have been doing stuff recently with local schools and people in our community, and it just makes you feel so comfortable. The club has the correct values, and it feels like everything is on a good trajectory.
“The future is exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything unfolds. The manager and all the coaching staff have worked so hard to get us to this point, and we’re improving as people every day. It’s a pleasure to be involved.”
