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After a difficult week at the football club, the Motherwell players were facing one of the toughest challenges of the league season, coming up against Champions Celtic.

With interim manager Stephen Frail saying the players owed it to themselves and the fans to put in a battling performance, all game plans went out the window after just 49 seconds, when Daizen Maeda opened the scoring for the visitors.

After the worst possible start, the Steelmen regrouped and battled their way back into the game. Luke Armstrong, having been handed his first start, found the back of the net for the first time in claret and amber just after 20 minutes.

Celtic went back ahead moments later through Adam Idah, and although Motherwell stayed in the game right until stoppage time, the Champions eventually applied the icing on the cake with the last kick of the ball to make it 3-1.

With a fortnight between this game and the next, a reset, recovery, and the small task of finding a new manager will all occur prior to Ross County’s arrival on the 15 February.

The club is aware of the racist abuse towards a Motherwell player on social media this afternoon. 

We will investigate this fully and will work with authorities to identify the individual. Motherwell Football Club condemns any form of racist abuse towards anyone. This kind of behaviour has no place in football or society.

Motherwell have a number of players out on loan at present. Below, we take a look at how they got on in the last four weeks. 

Matty Connelly

Matty Connelly has had a disrupted period on loan with East Kilbride. The young shot stopper has had to return to Motherwell briefly to cover injuries within the goalkeeping department.

However, he has since made two appearances for Kilby, taking his season tally to 24. In the one league match, Connelly helped his side win 4-2 against Bo’ness United. East Kilbride remain in pole position to finish top, with two points separating them from Celtic B in second, who have played three games more.

In his other appearance, Connelly’s side faced Queen’s Park in the semi-final of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Despite going behind in the early stages, East Kilbride scored twice to take the game to extra-time, but lost out 6-2 in the end.

Max Ross

There’s only been one game since our last report for Albion Rovers, which was against Bo’ness United. M.Ross started, as he has done in every game since he signed for Rovers, with his side unfortunately falling to a 1-0 defeat in the Lowland League Cup.

They will play their first league match since the end of December this weekend against Stirling University.

Brannan McDermott

Brannan McDermott and Broomhill have only been in action once in 2025 due to multiple matches being postponed. That match took place midweek in the Lowland League Cup, where Broomhill produced an upset, knocking Berwick Rangers out of the competition thanks to a 3-1 win.

McDermott, who played the full 90 minutes, helped his side get off to an excellent start, providing an assist for the first goal of the night.

Olly Whyte

Cowdenbeath have had two games since the last loan report, with Olly Whyte starting both matches. They beat Stirling University 2-1, pushing them further away from the wrong end of the table.

They then went to penalties against Gala Fairydean Rovers in the Lowland League Cup. Whyte was substituted on in the second-half having been named initially on the bench. Cowdenbeath exited the competition, losing 5-3 on penalties.

Dylan Wells

After recovering from injury, Dylan Wells has been back in action for Edinburgh City, as the Citizens continue their push for a promotion playoff spot.

Wells made his return to action as a second-half substitute against East Fife at the end of January. He came on in the 70th minute, with City losing out 4-1.

He then came off the bench again on the hour mark against Stirling Albion. In what was a frantic game, Michael McIndoe’s side came away with all three points thanks to a 4-3 win.

Edinburgh have opened up a four-point gap to fifth-placed Spartans and are only 11 points off top spot.

Filip Stuparevic

Morton went almost a month without playing a game and only played their first match of 2025 on 25 January against Queen’s Park at Hampden.

The wait was worth it, with Morton winning 2-1, where Stuparevic played 65 minutes. He then followed that up with a goal against Partick Thistle at Firhill in a 2-2 draw, finishing from close range. That was his sixth goal in Morton colours as the race of the promotion play off spots heating up in the Championship.

Luca Ross

L.Ross and Annan Athletic have won one, drawn one, and lost one since the last loan report. He played the full 90 minutes in the draw with Montrose and defeat against Inverness. In the 89th minute against Montrose, L.Ross burst down the line before setting up Tommy Muir to draw Annan level.

He then came off the bench with 5 minutes to go in a 3-1 win over Kelty Hearts. That result was huge for Annan, as it kept them two points clear of the relegation playoff. It also closed the gap to Montrose in seventh to just a point.

The youngster is now up to 14 appearances in all competitions for Annan this season.

Mark Ferrie

Bonnyrigg Ross had lost three prior to our last report, but since then, they have found sustained form in League Two. They’ve played five matches, winning two and drawing one.

Ferrie has been an ever-present in the side, starting each of their last three matches. In the other two, he has come off the bench to feature, taking his number of appearances to 17 for the Rose.

Rose have moved up to seventh in the table on 25 points, with only six points separating fifth to ninth.

After a challenging defeat, Motherwell came up short to William Hill Premiership leaders Celtic on Saturday afternoon, with the visitors coming away with a 3-1 win.

Daizen Maeda got his side off to the perfect start, scoring after just 49 seconds. However, Motherwell showed ample character to stabilise themselves and levelled through Luke Armstrong after 23 minutes.

Celtic wouldn’t be level for long with Adam Idah scoring just six minutes later, before Jota put the icing on the cake in stoppage time.

With Stephen Frail at the helm, Motherwell made two changes to the side that conceded two late goals in Perth eight days prior, with both Dom Thompson and Luke Armstrong handed their first starts. Having signed the day before, Will Dickson and Luke Plange were both named on the bench.

And with a full away end behind them, Celtic got off to the perfect start. Anthony Ralston picked out Maeda at the back post with a perfect delivery, and the Japanese international headed past Ellery Balcombe to open the scoring inside a minute.

It was the worst possible start for the Steelmen, but they dug their heels in, and after some flashes of chances, they found the leveller. Thompson cut inside onto his right foot and crossed into the area; Auston Trusty could only set the ball up perfectly for Armstrong, who smashed it into the ground and into the bottom corner for the equaliser. 23 minutes gone, 1-1.

Celtic weren’t level for long, and having scored the opener, Maeda turned provider for Idah to level just before the half-hour mark. 1-2 to Celtic.

Tawanda Maswanhise got a sight of goal almost immediately from the restart after Armstrong flicked a long ball into the Zimbabwean’s path, but the winger dragged his effort wide of the post.

Maeda wasn’t able to convert a handful of chances before the half-time break, despite some good setup work from Luke McCowan.

The second-half almost got off to the worst possible start for Motherwell, with Idah wheeling away in celebration thinking his side had a two-goal advantage on 49 minutes after the ball eventually ended up in the back of the net via Tom Sparrow. After a VAR check, however, the number nine was offside, and the goal was ruled out.

Celtic continued to put pressure on the Motherwell goal, and on the hour mark, Nicolas Kuhn got in behind the Motherwell defence, and having seen his first effort saved by Balcombe, produced an acrobatic effort to finish on the rebound. The linesman’s flag was raised immediately, with the German offside.

Idah was denied a second by the post, with Motherwell stopper Balcombe producing a couple of decent saves to keep the visitors at bay.

With Stephen Frail introducing Plange and Dickson to the proceedings, which meant three strikers were playing, Celtic picked off the hosts and sealed the points in stoppage time. Arnie Engels released Maeda, who played the ball across the goal for Jota, who could tap in from close range.

A tough result for the Steelmen, but a free weekend will give time for rest and recovery before going again against Ross County at Fir Park on the 15 February.

Motherwell: Balcombe, Kaleta (Paton 38′), O’Donnell, Gordon, Blaney, Thompson (Zdravkovski 76′), Sparrow, Halliday (Dickson 76′), Nicholson (Wilson 63′), Armstrong, Maswanhise (Plange 63′)

Subs: Balmer, Zdravkovski, Paton, Wilson, Connelly, Watt, Andrews, Plange, Dickson

Stephen Frail speaks after Motherwell’s 1-3 defeat to Celtic at Fir Park.

Striker Will Dickson has joined from Manchester City on loan until the end of the season, subject to international clearance. 

The City youngster joins having progressed through the ranks of the Premier League champions.

Described as a versatile and skilful striker, Dickson joined the City ranks at the age of 15 and has consistently scored goals at all levels.

He signed his scholarship in 2021 and went on to have a successful 2021/22, scoring 19 times for City’s Under-18s as they lifted the Under-18 Premier League title and even featured twice for the EDS.

Dickson moved up to the EDS the following season and made an impressive 38 appearances, scoring 18 goals in the process.

His 2023/24 was disrupted by injury, but he still scored five goals in the limited games he played.

Now making his first loan move of his career, he is ready to show his talent at first-team level.

“This is my first loan move, and I couldn’t be more excited,” Dickson said.

“I’ve shown what I can do at City through the levels, but this is the next big step for me. It’s an ideal opportunity for me to showcase my talents, and I would love to see my game progress at Motherwell.

“It’s an ideal place to be, and I can’t wait to see all the fans.”

Motherwell have secured the services of forward Luke Plange on loan from Crystal Palace until the end of the season, subject to international clearance. 

The 22-year-old joins from the Premier League side having been on loan with HJK Helsinki for the first half of this campaign.

Plange has a wealth of experience, in England and abroad, having turned out for six different clubs, as well as representing England at Under 21 level.

A product of the Arsenal Academy, Plange made the first move of his career to Derby County in 2021 and made his professional debut later that year. He made 26 appearances in the Championship for Derby, scoring four goals and was nominated for December’s PFA Championship Player of the Month.

His impressive displays earned him a three-and-a-half year deal with Crystal Palace in January 2022 but remained at Derby for the rest of the season on loan.

He continued to catch the eye of many following his return to Palace, and having netted a hat-trick against Ipswich Town, he moved to RWD Molenbeek in Belgium on loan for the first segment of the season. The Eagles recalled the forward at the midway stage of the season, where he’d made 16 appearances, and joined Lincoln City on loan for the second-half of the season.

In the summer of 2023, Plange was on the move again, this time to Carlisle United on a six-month loan. Upon the expiry of that contract, he returned to London where he scored pivotal goals for the Under 21 side.

The forward then moved on loan to HJK Helsinki in March 2024 prior to the season commencing in Finland. Plange made 36 appearances for HJK, scoring seven times and notching two assists. He played in the Champions League qualifiers for the Finnish outfit, and scored in the Europa Conference League group stage also.

He has been playing in Premier League 2 during January for Crystal Palace and is ready to make his mark.

“I feel fit, ready and optimistic about the rest of this season,” Plange noted.

“This is a great chance for me to build on what has been a successful season so far. I feel I have played in different leagues and bring a bit of experience on that front.

“I can’t wait to get started.”

Vice-captain Stephen O’Donnell says this week has been filled with emotion and shock but the focus has shifted onto the match against Celtic on Sunday.

O’Donnell knows the task that awaits the team this weekend in the William Hill Premiership.

Stephen Frail has taken the reigns since Stuart Kettlewell’s departure, and has had to draw a line under the manager leaving earlier in the week so the players and staff can focus on the difficult task of the Champions visiting Fir Park on Sunday in the William Hill Premiership. 

Frail talks about the great fanbase the club has and wants everyone to be connected going forward.

Chief Executive Brian Caldwell speaks for the first time since Stuart Kettlewell left the club. Caldwell discusses the process in which Kettlewell handed in his resignation, and the thought process of the former manager.

He also talks about why the club were transparent on the issue and revealed that there has been high interest in the vacant position.