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Motherwell’s home clash with Kilmarnock on Saturday October 22nd has been chosen for live coverage on Sky Sports.

The game will now kick-off at 12.45pm.

>> Revised fixture list

A new café aimed at those with memory problems is to open at Motherwell Football Club.

The living well with dementia cafe is aimed at those with dementia as well as those with memory concerns, and will provide an informal and relaxed environment where they can ask questions and get information and advice from health professionals about any memory issues they may have.

The café is a pilot initiative which will run for the next year in the club’s Centenary Suite on the first Friday of every month.

Among those who will be present enjoying the tea, coffee and biscuits, will be specialist doctors, memory service nurses, an advocacy worker, a welfare benefits officer, an occupational therapist as well as representatives from Alzheimer Scotland, Carers Together and North Lanarkshire Council’s Housing and Social Work department.

[pullquote]We hope that by hosting the café inside Fir Park we will be providing a comfortable environment in which patients, carers, and organisations can come together and get some help and support.[/pullquote]

One of the cafe organisers, NHS Lanarkshire community nurse Hazel Boyle, said: “We want to reduce the stigma of a dementia diagnosis and give those with dementia – and other memory problems – their families and informal carers, a place where they can gather, share their experiences and get some practical support in a friendly setting.

“Visitors will be able to pop into the café at their leisure and speak informally to a wide range of professionals and discuss all aspects of memory problems and get signposted to relevant services.”

The café is yet another example of the longstanding partnership between NHS Lanarkshire and MFC to promote positive mental health.

Charlie Bennett, head of adult Learning and Motherwell FC in the Community, said “We’re always happy to work with NHS Lanarkshire, and this initiative is of particular interest to me as my own mother suffered from Alzheimer’s.

“I’m well aware of its effect, not only on the sufferer, but the family as well.

“We hope that by hosting the cafe inside Fir Park we will be providing a comfortable environment in which patients, carers, and organisations can come together and get some help and support.

“Hopefully for some, its location will also stir happy memories of them and their loved ones cheering on the ‘Well at Fir Park.”

The café will open for the first time on Friday 5 August in the Fir Park Centenary Suite from 1pm to 4pm. It will be open on the first Friday of every month there after.

For more information on the cafe, contact: 01698 269649.

Motherwell will make the short journey down the M77 to take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park this Saturday.

‘Well got off to a flier last weekend with a 3-0 win that leaves McCall’s man sitting pretty at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

But there’s no one getting carried away at Fir Park, particularly as Killie turned in an excellent performance at Tannadice on Sunday despite being pegged to a 1-1 draw.

The Steelmen had mixed fortunes in Ayrshire last season; winning the first game 1-0 thanks to a Nick Blackman strike. However, it didn’t quite go according to plan in the return game when, despite going ahead through John Sutton, Killie came back to win the game 3-1.

Tickets will be available on the gate at Rugby Park with admission prices as follows:

• Concessions are listed as Over 65s and Under 18s.
• Fans who require wheelchair access should contact John McCaskie on 01555 870122 or email sharon.mccaskie@sky.com.

SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION COACHES

CENTRAL BRANCH

The bus for Kilmarnock will leave the Bentley Hotel at 1.30pm. Phone Jim on (01698) 299650 or e-mail Christopher on christopher_hutton@btinternet.com.

WISHAW BRANCH

The Wishaw bus to Rugby Park will leave at 1.15pm. To book seats please call Anne on 01698470601 or email andrew.sim48@btinternet.com.

BELLSHILL & DISTRICT BRANCH

The Kilmarnock bus will pick up at the Fir Park Club, Motherwell at 1pm, then Holytown War Monument at 1.10pm and finally the Carousel Bar, Bellshill at 1.15pm. To book seats, contact Brian Worton on 07763 061821 or after 6pm on (01698) 747644.

TRAVEL

BY CAR

The stadium is located close to the town centre is well signposted for travelling fans.

Follow the A71 towards Kilmarnock and then take the A759 (Dundonald Road) into the town. You will eventually come to the stadium on the left.

If travelling from the North, follow the M77, which becomes the A77 on approach to Kilmarnock. Exit on to the B7802 (Grassyards Road) and head towards the town centre.

Continue forward on to High Street, turning right at the traffic lights on to Fowlds Street. Then turn left at St Marnock Street on to the A759 (Dundonald Road). The stadium will be clearly visible ahead.

Street parking is available on numerous streets around the ground.

BY BUS

Several operators run buses which will take you within a five to 10 minute walk of the ground, including First service X76.

Further information and timetables are available online at www.firstgroup.com/glasgow.

BY TRAIN

Kilmarnock station is served by trains from Glasgow and is within walking distance of the ground.

Upon leaving the station, walk down John Finnie Street and turn right at the traffic lights on to Portland Road. Then take the second left on to South Hamilton Street and the stadium will be clearly visible ahead.

Further information and timetables are available online at www.scotrail.co.uk.

MAP

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Referee for Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park will be George Salmond.

Salmond, 41, will be handling his first ever ‘Well game after turning to the profession later in life.

He is perhaps better known in sporting circles as a former Scottish cricket captain, with 146 full caps to his name. During a distinguished career, the now Deputy Head of George Watson’s College, Edinburgh, captained Scotland at Under-16, Under-19 B and senior levels.

Following his appearance with the Saltires at the Cricket World Cup in 1999, George gave up the game to concentrate on life as a football referee. It took him almost four years to work his way in the SFA Senior List in 2004-05 and a further three years to receive a promotion to the Category 1 list in 2007-08.

He took charge of his first Scottish Premier League game at the start of this year when he was the man in the middle for St Johnstone’s 1-0 win over Inverness CT at McDiarmid Park. Three weeks later, he had an eventful outing at Rugby Park when Killie drew 1-1 with Dundee United with three players (Alexi Eremenko, Jon Daly and Scott Robertson) sent packing for an early bath.

He has also handled SPL games at New Douglas Park, Tannadice and Pittodrie last season. His most recent appointment was last Saturday’s Ramsden Cup clash between Brechin and Falkirk at Glebe Park.

George will be ably assisted by Alasdair Ross, Alastair Mather with Calum Murray on 4th Official duties.

The club released Season Ticket information at the weekend; here are three reasons why you should secure your season for season 2011/12. 

DAVIE COOPER OFFER

The fantastic “2 Kids go free in the Cooper” offer which kicked-off last season has returned once again. That means any adult or senior citizen purchasing a season ticket can claim up to two Juvenile / Young Adult Season Tickets absolutely free of charge. 

We had a 13% increase in our Season Ticket base last year, the majority of which came from this offer, it’s little wonder given an adult and two juvenile’s ticket for the Davie Cooper Stand will cost just £300 – or just over £5 each per game! 

WELLevate

With the Davie Cooper Stand offer proving so successful last season, the club have rolled this out to all home stands in a scheme we’re calling “WELLevate”. In a throw-back to an era where youngsters, the lifeblood of the club, were first introduced to the magic of Fir Park by being ‘lifted over the gate’. 

Modern Health and Safety regulations would hamper any replication but in 2011, ‘WELLevate’ is the closest you’re going to get. An entirely new initiative whereby if you buy and adult or senior citizen season ticket, you can bring along any kid aged 12 or under for free all season (season ticket book will be issued).  We have also reduced the prices of ALL Juvenile and Young Adult season tickets throughout the stadium. An adult 

SPECIAL OFFERS

In an exciting new scheme, Motherwell Season Ticket holders will benefit from a range of discounts and offers from a range of companies throughout Lanarkshire and beyond. 

Take advantage of any one of these terrific offers from such names as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, Brewers Fayre, Access NL, LivingWell Health Club and Evans Halshaw. 

For a full list of what is available, CLICK HERE. 

With Season Ticket sales well underway, the club would like to remind fans of the fantastic offer available in the Davie Cooper Stand.

The deal, amongst the best in the Scottish Premier League, kicked off last season and resulted in a massive 23% increase in Season Ticket uptake it the Cooper Stand.

The offer allows for any adult or senior citizen, purchasing a season ticket, to claim up to two Under 16 tickets absolutely free of charge. It could save you well over £600 compared to pay-at-the-gate prices each week!

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said: “We are acutely aware that a large percentage of our fans were introduced to the club, at a young age, by being lifted over the turnstile.

“Now, whilst we can’t quite offer that, this is about as close as you are going to get in 2011.

“We are desperate to create a family environment at the club, but particularly so in the Davie Cooper Stand. We have already introduced a number of child friendly initiatives, some as simple as having face-painters in the ground before kick-off. We’ll be exploring new ways to enhance the experience in the new season.

“A senior citizen, for example, can take two Under 16s for just £8.75 per game – you’ll struggle to find SPL football priced more competitively anywhere else in Scotland.”

Easier to buy…

As ever, we’ve made buying your Motherwell Season Ticket as easy as possible. We will, once again, run the interest free option where fans can spread payments over four months (May, June, July and August) without incurring any additional charges.

If you want to spread payments, Zebra Finance will also return to offer the facility to pay over a 10-month period (19.9% APR).

How to buy…

• Pop into the Fir Park Ticket Office now.
• Phone our Ticket Office hotline on 01698 333 333 (Option 2).
• Book online at: http://motherwellfc.iristickets.co.uk/

Prices…

For a full price breakdown, Click Here

Stuart McCall was absolutely delighted with his side after a convincing 3-0 win put ‘Well top of the table for at least 24 hours.

The Steelmen were magnificent in the Lanarkshire sunshine and won the game courtesy of three excellent goals from Stevie Hammell, Jamie Murphy and Keith Lasley.

McCall wasn’t allowing himself to get carried away by any means, but was understandably thrilled by the performance.

[pullquote]The quality of our three goals were outstanding. Everyone will remember Lasley’s shot but the movement and passing for the first two goals was terrific.[/pullquote]

The former Scotland International was also quick to point out the part Inverness played; Terry Butcher’s side creating numerous chances throughout the match and playing some very attractive football.

McCall told the gathered press after the match: “First and foremost I thought Inverness played their part; the first half was an outstanding game of football.

“The second half we had to dig in but they certainly could have scored a couple. The quality of our three goals were outstanding. Everyone will remember Lasley’s shot but the movement and passing for the first two goals was terrific.

“I know I have got the quality in the side to do that and that’s great for a manager to have. The boys can move it well, go one end of the park to another at speed, and the passing is good.

“The lads have shown since they came back, once you are back into it you want to get back into it. I thought there were signs last week against Leeds that we have good footballers in the side.

“And when the pitch is in that nick it encourages them to play. You can’t dominate the game for 90 minutes and sometimes you have to stand up and defend.

“Last season we managed a lot of clean sheets against the teams below us as we are confident we can score goals. The woodwork came to our aid on a couple of occasions but I thought our attacking play deserved the win.

“Three goals, three points, a clean sheet can’t complain about that?”

There were ten scouts from England in the Phil O’Donnell Stand this afternoon and many of Motherwell’s exciting young talent must surely have caught the eye.

Murphy, Humphrey and others will grab the headlines but McCall was keen to play down any talk and hopes he can hold on to his prize assets.

“It’s no surprise because there are no other games on,” a grinning McCall said.

“Seriously, people talk about the downside of coming back too early is that you can’t get boys on loan from English clubs. The downside for me is that teams have five or six games to watch our players.

“It was a good game to come and watch; we’ve not only got Jamie, (there are) three or four others too.

“You’re talking Jamie Murphy, Chris Humphrey, big Hutchie (Shaun Hutchinson), whoever we are talking about, they would benefit from another year.

“I find it sometimes sad, it doesn’t always happen, but some players leave the SPL to go down to England and sit on the bench.

“The boys are developing and it’s a good place to play football. Obviously if a big bid comes along the club would have to look at it but speaking myself, I don’t want to encourage anything.

“I think another year under their belts they will be better and the club will get more money for them.”

Pictures from the 3-0 win over Inverness CT in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Fir Park.

These action shots and more are available to buy online at www.motherwellpics.com.

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