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Motherwell conclude their pre-season preparations with a trip to East End Park to take on Dunfermline on Thursday.

The Steelmen, who have picked up friendly victories over Crusaders and Darlington, will be looking to end their pre-season run on a high, five days before the Betfred Cup group stages get underway.

Edinburgh City await Stephen Robinson’s side on Tuesday night, and for Championship side Dunfermline, they host Peterhead in their opening fixture of the tournament ‘Well finished runners-up in last November.

Thursday night’s clash is the first time the Steelmen have faced the Pars since 2012, when goals from Michael Higdon and Henrik Ojamaa sealed a 2-0 win for ‘Well.

The hosts, who have bolstered their squad with nine summer signings, are set for their third consecutive campaign in the Championship after being promoted from League One in season 2015/16.

Tickets cost just £10 for adults and £5 for concessions, with the game kicking off at 7.30pm.

Peter Hartley will be the new captain of Motherwell Football Club, following Carl McHugh’s decision to step down from the role.

The 30-year-old defender, an influential figure at the club, will take up the armband with immediate effect.

Hartley will be supported by other senior players, including McHugh.

“Peter was an obvious choice for me,” manager Stephen Robinson said of the decision.

“It’s in his character, he’s a natural born leader, he’s loud and has total respect from the boys. Carl had that in a different way as he was quieter in how he conducted himself.

“Peter has that respect and I think he’ll be fantastic for the football club.

“What we’ve got this year though is a group of older boys, if we have older boys, who I can speak to and ask their opinion. I can get a feel of what is needed and what’s not in the dressing room.

“In terms of who will be leading the football club on the pitch, it will be Peter Hartley, backed up by a group of boys, including Carl, who can all step up to be captain.”

McHugh has also backed the decision. “We’re a close knit squad and Pete has always been supportive of me as captain and I’ll do the same for him,” he said.

“I know that Pete will go on to be a terrific captain of this football club.”

Stephen Robinson has expressed his utmost respect for Carl McHugh, after the midfielder decided to pass on the captain’s armband.

The Irishman, who is preparing for his third season at Fir Park, spent the 2017/18 campaign as skipper and was the first in his position to lead out the club at two cup finals.

Carl’s move to step away from the role has been supported fully by his manager, who believes the 25-year-old will continue to represent the club in the same manner he always has.

“Carl and I have spoke at length about it. I spoke to him at the tail end of last season when he came to me about this.

“He’s a very conscientious football player and he wants to do the very best for the football club.”

Robinson added: “There was a lot of extra responsibility put on Carl last season, particularly with the cup finals, and he just feels he could give more to the team without the armband.

“For me, it’s a very selfless act and it’s clear he’s thought all of this through. He felt that someone else taking the armband would allow him to concentrate on his game and improve another 5%.

“I have total admiration for him, he’s a great boy and he’ll always give me 110% when he steps out on the pitch.”

Carl McHugh has decided to relinquish his role as captain of Motherwell Football Club.

The influential Irishman has made the decision after a summer of personal reflection, after which he believed it would be both in his own interest and that of the team to pass on the armband.

Peter Hartley will be the new captain of the club, a decision taken after consultation with McHugh and other senior players.

“It’s definitely not a decision I’ve taken lightly,” he explained. “It’s been a tough decision to come to but I think it’s the right one going forward.

“But I just feel at times I wasn’t happy with the level of consistency I showed over the season.

“The captaincy was affecting me in different ways. But most importantly on the pitch, I felt my level of performance [had dropped].

“I’m quite hard on myself, to be honest, and when I analysed my season after the last few games I felt this was something that could help me moving forward, and help the team.

“I could have just carried on and stayed in the role for another season. That would have been the easy thing to do. But I think the right thing to do is what I am doing now.

“It is the right thing for me personally, which in turn will help the team and the club move forward. I believe this will help me overall, it’ll help my performances and it will help the team.

“We’re a close knit squad and Pete has always been supportive of me as captain and I’ll do the same for him. I know that Pete will go on to be a terrific captain of this football club.”

Manager Stephen Robinson and McHugh spoke about the matter for several weeks, after the player made the first approach to say he wished to pass on the armband.

“I don’t think there’s many managers you could probably speak to about something like this and for him to be as understanding as he was,” he said of the manager.

“He’s been great about it and he’s just wanted to help me and do the right thing for me and the club moving forward.”

McHugh was the first captain since the 1950s to lead the team into two cup finals and says he’s happy with the role he played, but now wants to focus on playing.

“I’ve captained the club in two finals and that’s something I can look back on and be proud of,” he said.

“I feel now getting it sorted and getting it out in the open, I can focus on the cup games and look forward to getting back to football and enjoying my football.”

Tickets for our two home matches in the 2018/19 Betfred Cup are now available to buy online.

Motherwell host Edinburgh City on Tuesday, 17 July in their first competitive match of the campaign, before Queen of the South are visitors to Fir Park a week later.

Adult tickets are priced at £12, while concessions can get in for £6. You can buy yours online right now.

• Buy your tickets for Motherwell v Edinburgh City
• Buy your tickets for Motherwell v Queen of the South

We encourage all fans to buy early and make use of our new online ticket platform. Our print at home function is not available for these two matches but you can have your match ticket posted to you, or collect it from the ticket office.

Pay at the gate will also be available on the day.

Pre-match hospitality

Both the Cooper Bar and Centenary Suite will be open for pre-match food and drink ahead of our two home matches.

Our usual pre-match hospitality will not be in operation. Food can be purchased before the game and access to the bars will be available before and after the match, as well as at half time. Opposition fans are also welcome in the bars at both games.

Both the Cooper Bar and Centenary Suite will be open for pre-match food and drink ahead of our two home matches in the 2018/19 Betfred Cup.

Motherwell face Edinburgh City and Queen of the South on 17 and 24 July respectively, as the team look to replicate last season’s run to the final.

Our usual pre-match hospitality will not be in operation. Food can be purchased before the game and access to the bars will be available before and after the match, as well as at half time.

Opposition fans are also welcome at both games.

Welcome to the new website of Motherwell Football Club.

After extensive development and consultation with supporters over what they expect from their club website, we’ve worked with Scottish web development agency mtc to bring you our new offering.

Our previous website and server were not befitting of the strides we have taken as a club both on and off the pitch. Through our conversations with you, the fans, you told us that:

• Information on the first team was the main reason you visited
• You wanted more insight into the first team and more content around them
• Buying tickets online was also important, leading to the launch of our ticketing platform this summer
• A new, modern website that was fit for purpose in the current digital age was essential
• A responsive mobile website was critical, with 67% of those surveyed saying they visited the website on their mobile devices

The new website is based around those fundamental points. The main content you will see every time you visit will be geared around the first team matches and players, with fresh interviews, features, behind-the-scenes content and more on a daily basis, whether that’s in written, video or audio form.

Club websites can be cluttered. We wanted to strip things down so that you see only what the majority are interested in on first glance. But there are still lots of areas that are vitally important to the club, and we’ve organised these better through our new navigation system, that makes it quicker and easier to find the items you need.

Our new site will also help us grow the business, with the ability to sell tickets and hospitality, increase opportunities for digital sponsorships and better promote the sale of club merchandise. It is also hosted on a new server which will be able to handle large volumes of traffic.

“This is an important day for Motherwell FC as we step up our digital offering,” communications manager Grant Russell said.

“Our supporters have told us exactly what they expect from our website, and we’ve looked to reflect that in what we are launching today.

“Our previous offering had become not fit for purpose and it was important we took the time to properly investigate and then design a website that would best serve the club and its supporters.

“We have a lot of innovative features and we’ve spent a lot of time on the user experience, making it as easy as possible to find the information you want as easily as possible. We are also now able to integrate our website with our new ticketing system, meaning it is now possible to buy tickets for matches through our website in just a few clicks.

“There are a number of features still to follow that will even further enhance our website for our fans that we will announce shortly.”

Ryan McGinnis, lead designer on the project at mtc, added: “We are delighted to present the new club website after months of collaborative research, design and development between Motherwell & mtc,”

“Our primary aim was to establish a highly engaging fan experience by placing supporters at the forefront of the digital journey. We have created a system that allows users to effortlessly find key content and can withstand the technical pressures expected of a progressive, traffic-heavy football club.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the club to our ever growing sports line-up and look forward to growing our digital partnership with Motherwell FC.”

Neil McLaughlin and Broque Watson have been recruited to form part of Stephen Craigan’s reserves team for the 2018/19 season.

The pair have been signed up on one-year deals. McLaughlin joins from Partick Thistle, while Watson has signed from Celtic.

McLaughlin has immediately gone out on loan to Stirling Albion for the season, with the club holding a recall option in January. He will also be eligible to play for the Motherwell reserve team.

The 19-year-old forward, who made three appearances for the Jags, also spent last campaign with Stirling, playing 33 times and scoring four goals.

Watson, a winger, has played for Celtic in the UEFA Youth League and will also form part of the reserves.