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Motherwell FC can today confirm it has reluctantly allowed midfielder Stephen Pearson to join Indian Super League side Atlético de Kolkata.

Lanark-born Pearson, who turns 34 in October, was under contract until next May, and as such, the club have been compensated for releasing him.

Two long-term injuries (knee and rib) restricted the influential former Scotland International to 28 appearances in all competitions last term, pitching in with an important ten goals (eight in the SPFL Premiership and two against Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup).

Pearson will join the ISL side, who are owned and are a franchise of La Liga outfit Atlético de Madrid, for their four-month 2016 season that runs between September and December.

‘Well boss Mark McGhee said: “We are desperately disappointed to lose Stephen, but we’ve known for some time now that this move was on the cards.

[pullquote]It was very much our first option that the player remained at Motherwell, but when we spoke with Pearo it was clear he really wanted to go over there.[/pullquote]

“There was absolutely no fall out, it was all extremely amicable, and we understand his personal circumstances. He leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Motherwell FC.

“However, it was then incumbent upon us to try and recoup something to help us find someone else, and that’s what we’ve done. We have been and are engaged in trying to secure a replacement and the midfield area is our priority.”

Pearson added: “This was something I was really keen to do and I want to thank everyone at Motherwell for the way they’ve handled this.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I go, but at the same time, I am confident the club is in decent shape, with a very good manager and some exciting young talent bubbling under the surface waiting to get their chance, alongside the excellent senior professionals already there.

“I’ve enjoyed my second spell at Fir Park; I want to thank the fans for all their support and who knows, one day I may be back for another go at it.”

Motherwell have today confirmed legendary defender Stevie Hammell has signed a two-year contract extension.

The 34-year old, Motherwell’s post war record appearance holder for league matches, has played over 530 times in Claret and Amber over 15 seasons. He also enjoyed a testimonial season back in 2012, culminating with a friendly against Everton at Fir Park.

The left back, a mainstay in Mark McGhee’s side who adds vital experience both on and off the park, will also combine his role with taking the Elite Academy Under 15s side, who he coached with James McFadden and Brian Kerr last year.

Speaking of Hammell, Motherwell’s joint record European appearance holder, boss Mark McGhee said: “We’re delighted Hammy is staying as he’s got so much to offer both on and off the park.

[pullquote]We’re delighted Hammy is staying as he’s got so much to offer both on and off the park.[/pullquote]

“He, along with the likes of Keith Lasley, are club legends but my desire to retain both isn’t anything about that, it’s about what they give us here and now. You need only look at our games last season when one or both weren’t available and there was a marked difference.

“We’ve now got a very solid, experienced group of defenders and goalkeepers; our focus now is to bolster our midfield and attacking areas of the pitch.”

Hammell added: “I’m extremely pleased to have got the deal finalised and to be staying at Motherwell.

“I’ve never made any secret of my feelings for this club so there is no one happier that my future is sorted out, and I can get on with my football.

“I am still hugely ambitious not only personally, but what we can do as a team. There’s a good vibe about training the last few days, there’s a freshness with some new faces and we’re looking forward to the season ahead.

“For me I want to try and help the team as much as I can and play as much football as possible. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

vs Rangers – All ticket | HOME | Saturday 16th July

• Concessions are listed as Over 60s, 16s-18s and Full time students
• Juveniles are listed as Under 16s.

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vs Annan Athletic – All ticket | AWAY |Saturday 23rd July

• Concessions are listed as Over 65s and Under 16s

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vs East Stirlingshire | HOME | Tuesday 26th July

• Concessions are listed as Over 60s, 16s-18s and Full time students
• Juveniles are listed as Under 16s.

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vs Stranraer | AWAY | Saturday 30th July

• Concessions are listed as Over 65s
• Juveniles are listed as Under 16s.

Motherwell FC can today confirm physio Adam Stokes has left the club for Aberdeen.

Adam had been at Fir Park for five years, with the last two as Head Physiotherapist.

However, he was offered and has accepted a similar role at Aberdeen and notified the club of his intent to leave at the tail end of last week.

Whilst the club looks for a replacement, legendary former physiotherapist John Porteous has returned to assist during that process and will work alongside Aileen Anderson and Andy Boles in the medical department.

Manager Mark McGhee said: “We are disappointed Adam has left the club, but we wish him all the very best.

“The nature of employing and developing good staff is that, eventually, others who can afford to pay more notice and you lose them.

“However, in the short term we are absolutely delighted to welcome John back to the club, someone I know and trust unreservedly and someone who knows Motherwell FC inside out.

“He’ll keep us on solid ground until such times as we find a permanent solution.”

Everyone at Motherwell FC would like to thank Adam for his service over the last five years and wish him every success in his future career.

Goalkeeper Dean Brill has signed a one year deal with the Steelmen and is hungry to compete for the number one jersey. 

The 30-year-old ex-Inverness CT stopper, who has returned from a year out through injury, will compete with Craig Samson for a spot in Mark McGhee’s starting line-up.

And the Englishman is happy that the paperwork is out of the way early on, having tied up the deal on Monday.

He said: “It’s good to get it done, especially on the first day of pre-season after I was at training this morning. I’m pleased it’s all done and I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”

[pullquote]”I’m grateful to be here and push for that number one spot.”[/pullquote]

After missing last season, Brill hopes to go beyond the level he was playing at before injury struck, and claims he never lost his hunger for the sport.

“It’s not a benefit but it does allow you to reassess where you want to go.” He explained; “I’ve been working hard in the gym and it’s been a long comeback, but I feel that I’m now stronger and I’ve got that hunger to get back to where I was and hopefully go beyond that.”

“I don’t think I ever lost [that hunger]. I’m a football person: I love it, I love watching it and I’m football mad, so it’s nice now that the reigns are off and the injury is clear and I’m going to get a good pre-season under my belt and it’s a great opportunity at a club like this.”

The keeper touched on his first morning in training under manager Mark McGhee.

He said: “It was good. It was easy, apparently. The manager said it was going to be a nice day but it was tough, pre-season is always tough but it was nice just to get back out and forget everything and get back involved again.

“The gaffer’s a character from what I’ve been told and what I’ve seen this morning. He’s got great experience and being involved in the Scotland set-up can only help as well.”

 Manager Mark McGhee insists that his pre-season preparations will not be rushed ahead of the League Cup clash with Rangers on July 16.

The players returned to training on Monday and the ‘Well boss was impressed with his teams fitness – but stressed that he does not expect them to be back to full fitness too soon and his priority is to avoid injuries.

He said: “There’s always apprehension, there’s always that fear of what’s to come and the difficulty that pre-season training represents.

“But it’s nothing silly; the first day today we’ll do a bit of interval running, a little bit of body circuits and introduce them gently.”

The players, who each had strict programmes to follow over the break, arrived back at training on Monday.

McGhee said: “The fitness levels should be good anyway but we have to make sure that we’re getting up to speed as quickly as we can.

“We won’t be ready [on July 16] the way we expect to be when we’re four or five games in to the season, it’s impossible. If we try to do that we’re likely to injure people.”

He added: “One of the main objectives of any pre-season training campaign is to avoid injuries and to come through it with everyone fit – both in terms of their physical fitness, but also not pulling muscles or over-doing it so we don’t get injuries early on.”

And on the back of the addition of a few new signings, the Fir Parkers boss said: “It’s good to see some new faces, I think it energises everybody with new faces and new voices – and [the players] will all be looking forward to seeing how good they are too.”

A selection of images from the first day of pre-season training at Dalziel Park.

[svgallery name=”preseason270616″]

Motherwell have today made a trio of signings with Ben Heneghan, Richard Tait and Jacob Blyth all joining the club.

6ft 4 inch centre defender Heneghan, 22, signs after two successful years at National League side Chester. The club were able to beat off stiff competition from English Championships clubs to secure the England C International on a two-year contract.

Galashiels-born right back Richard Tait, 26, was with Nottingham Forest before joining Tamworth. He played almost 200 games with the Lambs before spells with Cambridge and Grimsby, this year winning promotion to League 2 via the Playoffs. He joins the club on a three-year deal and will wear the number 2 shirt.

Jacob Blyth is a 6ft 3 inch striker who joins the club from Premiership champions Leicester City. The 23-year old had a prolific start in the English National League before being bought by the Foxes in 2012. Although never have played for the King Power Stadium side, he’s enjoyed loan spells at Northampton, Burton, Cambridge and, most recently, Blackpool. The front man has signed a two-year deal with a third year option.

[pullquote]We are delighted to have secured all three lads as in all each situation, we had to battled hard against clubs on both sides of the border.[/pullquote]

‘Well boss Mark McGhee said: “We are delighted to have secured all three lads as in all each situation, we had to battled hard against clubs on both sides of the border.

“All three have been identified via our scouting network, headed up by Martin Foyle, and we’ve really done our homework on them all.

“Ben will come in and battle it out with Kieran Kennedy, Louis Laing and Stephen McManus for a centre back position and Richard is an experienced and talented right back who had a really strong season at Grimsby.

“Jacob gives us something we’ve not really got in attack, which is a big, powerful, strong centre forward who will run in behind.

“I am really looking forward to working with them all when we start on Monday. We’ve got other areas of the park we’re looking to strengthen, and will continue trying to nail our top targets.”

Motherwell is today delighted to confirm skipper Keith Lasley has signed a new one-year contract at the club.

The 36-year old has led Motherwell during some of their greatest moments over the last few years, and continues to play a starring role in the middle of the park.

He has a League and Scottish Cup Final appearance, is the clubs’ record European appearance holder (joint with Stevie Hammell which includes captaining the side for its only Champions League Qualifying tie against Panathinaikos), has two SPFL Premiership runners-up medals and completed his Testimonial season with a game against Bolton last year.

Lasley, who has over 450 appearances across fifteen seasons in Claret and Amber, is also a huge influence off the park and in the dressing room, and will continue to combine his playing role with being Assistant to Stephen Craigan with the Under 20s and managing the Elite Academy’s Under 17s alongside Stephen McManus.

[pullquote]I’ve never made any secret of my feelings for this club; everything we’ve been through and enjoyed together over fifteen or so years. It has been brilliant, and I am sure there can be more good times to come.[/pullquote]

‘Well boss Mark McGhee said “Keith is one of our most effective players so from a footballing sense, I am delighted to have him for at least one more year.

“However, he is more than just that for us – he’s a captain in every sense of the word. He, along with some of our other excellent senior pros, help set the culture at the club and take a real involvement in other areas such as the Under 20s and the Academy.

“When you’re building a squad, which we’re doing, you need guys who know what the club, the support and its expectations are all about, and that’s Las.

“We have plenty of more work to do, but retaining Keith in our structure is something I am very pleased about. He will play a key part for us in 2016/17.”

Keith added: “It has taken a bit of time, but I am really pleased we’ve managed to get a deal done and I am raring to go for the new season.

“I’ve never made any secret of my feelings for this club; everything we’ve been through and enjoyed together over fifteen or so years. It has been brilliant, and I am sure there can be more good times to come.”

“Pre-season is just days away, so I am sure everyone will be champing at the bit come the big kick-off next month.”

The Board of Motherwell FC wishes to express its extreme anger following the publication of the SPFL Premiership fixtures earlier this morning.

Motherwell, along with Partick Thistle and Hamilton Academical, have two home ‘Old Firm’ games pre-split, whereas some of our closest rivals have four, something that has never happened in the history of the SPL / SPFL, as far as we know.

This has a serious financial impact on our club, and we cannot and will not accept it.

It creates a significant financial advantage for some clubs over others and in our view, just as important, compromises the integrity of the competition, both in terms of the potential/need for adjusting respective player budgets up or down and the amount of games teams have to play at what has historically been the most challenging venues.

In previous seasons since the split, there has always been parity where clubs had the same amount of home games against both Old Firm sides (almost always three) and were expected to travel to both Celtic Park and Ibrox the same amount as every other team in the division prior to the split.

There was no hint of this fundamental change until we received the fixtures at 8.02am today and, therefore, like the other clubs in our position, now find ourselves significantly worse off than we were on Thursday night and with insufficient time to make appropriate adjustments.

We expect this unacceptable position to be reversed immediately.

In addition, whilst having sympathy around the difficulty of selecting games for certain times of the year, Motherwell FC believes having two midweek matches away at both Inverness CT and Ross County (the Inverness trip being three days after Christmas) sends out the wrong message.

Where possible, consideration should be given, particularly around the festive period, to the needs of all supporters given we now have two fixtures that will be largely inaccessible for a significant portion of our fan base.