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Craig Brown hopes that his vast experience as Scotland boss will stand his Motherwell side in good stead for the Europa league clash with Odense.

In his eight years as the national manager, Brown qualified for two major tournaments, including France ’98.

Along the way, he created a Scotland side which was notoriously hard to break down and grinded out some fine results.

So it is easy to see why Thursday’s trip to Denmark holds no fear for the Motherwell boss.

“This is what I have been used to for 16 years,” he said. “I was with the Scottish team for four qualifying campaigns and took the team to two major tournaments – and just lost out in a playoff for another.

“That meant that we had to create a team organised enough to play in Europe and we did that successfully. Even when we failed to qualify in my last qualifying campaign we only lost one match out of ten.

“My philosophy has always been: minimise the risk of failure. That means be well organised and know the opposition, because knowledge is power.

“So I certainly do not intend to go over to Denmark and lose.”

Brown hopes his side can repeat their performance from the last round against Aalesund, when the Steelmen managed to score away from home.

This gave them the upper hand in the second-leg and they finished the job in style at Fir Park, winning 4-1 on aggregate.

“The away goal could be vital in Denmark,” he said. “We will certainly try to score over there.

“I believe we have players in our team like Sutton, Humphrey and Murphy who are good on the break and capable of getting an away goal.

“We will be careful and cautious, but when we get the chance to break we will be offensive.”

Motherwell have impressed thus far in their European campaign and after two seasons in which they missed out on the lucrative group stages their experienced boss believes the squad may now be ready to take the step up.

“The players are revelling in the European challenge.” said Brown.

“It’s a bonus to be playing in Europe and I think to have merely survived the first two rounds is a fairly good achievement. To survive this round would be an excellent achievement – and that is our immediate objective.

“We would be arguably the smallest team in the Europa League group stages in terms of attendances and budget if we do get through.

“We have worked very hard, even before the European campaign started. We were ready for the match against Breidablik, and we did very well against Aalesund. This is another challenge that we will prepare well for.”

Despite the air of confidence which exudes from the ‘Well gaffer he is experienced and wise enough not to underestimate the threat of the team who currently sit in fifth position in the Danish Superliga.

In a recent spying mission to the Danish capital Motherwell’s management duo of Knox and Brown took in the league leaders FC Copenhagen’s encounter against Odense – and they came back to North Lanarkshire under no illusions about how tough the task will be for the club to progress.

“We were left in no doubt about the calibre of the opposition – they are very good! Much better than the Norwegian and Icelandic team we have already faced.

“Myself and Archie went over to watch them against FC Copenhagen. We couldn’t have picked a better fixture to judge them because Copenhagen are Denmark’s Champions League representatives – and Copenhagen only won 3-2 with a stoppage time goal.

“The Odense salaries are bigger than ours, as are their attendances. They have a bigger budget and good sponsorship deals. In every respect they are a bigger club than Motherwell but we play Celtic and Rangers, who are far bigger clubs than Odense – and we often compete well and get results against them.

“We know all about the opposition. We know their players and how they are likely to play, so there are no excuses regarding preparation.”

The club have today issued the following press release relating to the transfer of Paul Quinn to Cardiff City.

Cardiff owe Motherwell £175,000 plus interest and costs for the transfer of Paul Quinn which took place in June 2009, almost 14 months ago.

Fully understanding their difficulties, the board of Motherwell have pursued this claim firmly but courteously. 

Having failed to receive a proper business like response, the club eventually had no option but to pursue the matter in Hamilton Sheriff Court.  The petition was considered on Friday yet Cardiff did not even turn up or submit a defence to our petition.

Commenting, Motherwell Chief Executive, Leeann Dempster, said:  “It is critical that clubs work constructively with each other to ensure we can manage a very difficult financial climate for the game.  We have given Cardiff every chance to do the right thing.

“The board now believe that Cardiff’s position is untenable given their activity in the transfer market acquiring Jason Koumas, Tom Heaton, Danny Drinkwater, Seyi Olofinjana, Martin John and today, the loan signing of Manchester City’s Craig Bellamy.

“Given all these circumstances and with legal and moral weight behind us, Motherwell have no option but to immediately pursue all legal routes to ensure this significant sum is paid to us as quickly as possible. 

“These may include issuing a winding up order, arresting assets or physically sending bailiffs to their ground on match day to take possession of cash.  Every option will be fully considered and implemented as soon as possible.

“We want Cardiff fans to know that we appreciate the concerns this will give them.  We can only urge them to look to how they would feel in our position and urge them to put pressure on their own Board to ensure the excellent long-term reputation of their club is not diminished by the leadership of one board.

“We have a job to promote and protect the interests of our own employees, fans and shareholders and we will.  We would also suggest to the Championship and the English FA that they look with great care at the conduct of Cardiff in handling this matter. 

“Even at this very late stage, I would urge Gethin Jenkins of Cardiff to pay this money plus costs and interest by return in order to save his club acute embarrassment and the football community in general unwarranted bad publicity”.

The first-team squad were all gathered at Fir Park today for the annual team photocall. As always our friends at SNS were there to capture all the action.

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Midfielder Keith Lasley could not hide his frustration after Motherwell lost out to Hibs in the opening game of the new season.

Referee Craig Thomson was the centre of attention after denying the Steelmen two penalties in an incident-packed game at Fir Park.

Lasley was reluctant to lambast the official but conceded that his decisions had a large bearing on the result.

“Out of the three penalty claims we had the one that we got was the one we didn’t really claim for! I was surprised to get the penalty,” he said, reflecting on the award ‘Well did receive when Nick Blackman was pulled back by Colin Nish inside the box.

“For me the other two claims were stone wall penalties – certainly more so than the one we got.”

The first denied claim came as John Sutton was barged over in the box by Chris Hogg and the frustration was compounded seconds later as Hibs went up the other end and extended their lead through Liam Miller.

Lasley, who was just yards away from the incident, had no doubt that the official should have pointed to the spot.

“I was close to the John Sutton barge and thought that was a penalty.” he said. “But we got the one that we got and unfortunately we could not build on that and get back into the game.”

The Steelmen had another denied claim to ruefully look back on when Sol Bamba seemed to clearly flick the ball out for a corner with his hand following a Lasley cross. A penalty at that point would have given ‘Well a great chance to make it 3-3, but it wasn’t to be.

“If your arm is away from the body then that is deemed a penalty. It seems as though they bring out new directives regarding handball every year, but to me it seemed a penalty kick.” Lasley insisted.

“I certainly thought Bamba’s arm was in an unnatural position, so it was a penalty, but these things happen.”

Between penalty claims Bamba made another contribution towards the outcome of match when he impeded Darren Randolph as he challenged for a Derek Riordan cross.

This allowed the ball to travel to the back post where Paul Hanlon bundled the ball into the net with his arm.

“We didn’t get the breaks,” said the 30-year-old. “At the time I couldn’t tell what had happened, but Stevie (Hammell) claimed for a handball and so did a couple of the other boys. Perhaps the linesman didn’t have a great view of it.

“It’s another aspect of the game that we will look at and think it is another bit of luck which has gone against us.

“The bottom line is we have lost the game; that’s it. The outcome is we have gained no points, and it’s already in the past – we now have to take it on with the chin and get on with preparing for the next match.”

Craig Brown was disappointed his side had nothing to show for their efforts in the opening league game of the season.

The Steelmen lost 3-2 to Hibs in another entertaining game between the two sides at Fir Park.

Motherwell dominated the first-half but went in level after Anthony Stokes cancelled out John Sutton’s opener.

Further chances went begging in a more even second forty-five and Hibs capitalised with goals from Paul Hanlon and Liam Miller.

Jamie Murphy pulled one back from the penalty spot but the visitors held on for all three points.

“We had enough chances in the first-half to get a fairly secure lead but when you do not take your chances there is always likelihood that you will pay the penalty and unfortunately that happened to us,” said Brown.

“I think we should have got something from the match, I think everyone who saw the game will agree with that, but I give credit to Hibs.

“They battled back well and got into the game after going behind. Nevertheless we are disappointed to get nothing from the game.
 
“We were the better team in the first-half and I don’t think there was much in it in the second-half either. We had as many good moves and scoring chances as Hibs did, although they are always dangerous on the break.”

As well as his side’s poor finishing, Brown was also unhappy with the performance of referee Craig Thomson.

The Motherwell boss claimed the goal that put Hibs 2-1 ahead should not have been allowed and that his own side should have had more than the one penalty given.

“I have seen the pictures of it and there were two reasons why it should not have been allowed,” he said.

“The penalty that was least like a penalty was the one we got. We had a better claim before and after that.

“The clear one was when John Sutton was barged off the ball. I saw one yesterday when referee Collum gave one correctly for Kilmarnock against Rangers for the same thing.

“I don’t want to be a moaner. I want to give the referee the respect he is due. He is a very good referee, but I have got to be honest and say that I felt the decisions were not kind to us today. I think that is putting it euphemistically.”

Despite conceding three goals on the day, goalkeeper Darren Randolph turned in a dazzling display between the sticks. The big stopper could do very little about any of Hibs’ goals and he made a series of great saves from Riordan, Stokes and Kevin McBride.

The manager was full of praise for the man with the unenviable task of replacing John Ruddy: “Darren is a good goalkeeper, and he will be a terrific asset without a doubt. I would rather he didn’t have to make too many saves, but he made the saves today – and he made them well.”

Another player who caught the eye was debutant loan signing Nick Blackman. The 20-year old showed some nice touches after coming on as a substitute and won the penalty from which Murphy made it 3-2.

“Nick didn’t get much time on the pitch today but I think everyone can see that we have got a guy that can be very good for us this season because he has good great attributes for a striker.

“His pace and his shooting are excellent and he has the stature to be a fine striker.”

Pictures from the 3-2 defeat to Hibs 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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[tab:Match report]

Motherwell suffered an agonising defeat in their opening league game of the season as Hibs came from behind to win at Fir Park.

The Steelmen took the lead through John Sutton on 13 minutes and looked set for victory after a dominant first-half performance.

But Anthony Stokes equalised on the stroke of half-time for Hibs and Paul Hanlon controversially put them in front midway through the second-half.

Liam Miller then made it 3-1 before Jamie Murphy pulled one back from the spot in what was another entertaining clash between the two sides.

Craig Brown kept faith with the same team that overcame Aalesund in the Europa League ten days earlier.

That meant new-boys Nick Blackman and Esteban Casagolda had to be content with a place on the bench.

It had been twelve years since Motherwell’s last opening day win at Fir Park and the initial signs didn’t look good as Hibs threatened early on.

Stokes got the better of Mark Reynolds inside the box and fired a low shot at goal but Darren Randolph was equal to it and diverted the ball behind.

The Steelmen recovered from the early scare and Murphy tried his luck with a low shot from 25 yards.

They then took the lead on 13 minutes when Sutton diverted a Tom Hateley cross past Graham Stack from close range.

And only a good save from the Hibs keeper prevented Sutton from doubling his and Motherwell’s advantage with a low shot from 12 yards.

Stack was called into action again 25 minutes when the lively Murphy let fly with another shot from the edge of the area. Murphy then turned provider for Sutton who saw his effort blocked in front of goal by Sol Bamba.

It was a terrific spell of pressure from the home side and they continued to unlock the Hibs defence as the half wore on.

Steven Saunders threatened to make it 2-0 from a Chris Humphrey corner but his towering header went just over the bar. Hateley then created space for himself on the edge of the area although his curling shot was easily held by Stack.

Hibs had offered very little going forward at this stage but they almost drew level when Kevin McBride combined with Derek Riordan.

The midfielder looked certain to score from 15 yards but Randolph stood tall and parried the ball behind.

However, the Motherwell keeper was beaten on the stroke of half-time when Stokes tapped home from close range after Riordan’s free-kick caused havoc inside the box.

It was cruel blow for the Steelmen, who were much the better team in the opening 45 minutes.

They hit-back after the break and Keith Lasley found Murphy with a superb cross-field ball but the striker’s shot was easily gathered by Stack.

Moments later Reynolds sent a 20-yard shot just wide of the keeper’s right-hand post as the second-half got off to a bright start.

At the other end and Stokes unleashed a curling effort which brought out the best in Randolph.

Play continued to flow from end to end and Humphrey went agonisingly close to restoring Motherwell’s lead when his looping cross struck the inside of the post.

Hibs failed to clear their lines and Humphrey sent the ball back into the danger area where Sutton headed just wide.

The Steelmen looked likelier to score but it was in fact Hibs who went in front on 64 minutes when Hanlon bundled a Riordan cross into the net from close range. Replays later showed the defender used his hand to help the ball over the line.

Motherwell were undone again on the counter-attack nine minutes later as the visitors extended their advantage. Riordan found Miller in the left-channel and he drilled the ball past Randolph and into the net.

But just like they did in the 6-6 draw at the end of last season, the Steelmen came fighting back.

Brown introduced Blackman for his debut and the substitute made an immediate impact – winning a penalty after having his shirt pulled by Nish.

Referee Craig Thomson, who earlier denied Sutton a penalty, pointed straight to the spot. Murphy stepped and sent Stack the wrong way to give his side hope.

But despite a late period of pressure, including a blocked shot from Lasley and header from Blackman, Hibs held on to claim all three points.

[tab:As it happened]

90+3′ FULL-TIME The referee signals the end of the game.

90+3′ Keith Lasley takes a shot. Blocked by David Stephens.

90+2′ Corner from left by-line taken short right-footed by Derek Riordan (Hibernian). Corner from left by-line taken short right-footed by Kevin McBride (Hibernian).

90+1′ Anthony Stokes takes a shot. Save by Darren Randolph.

89′ Derek Riordan produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box which goes wide of the left-hand post.

86′ Foul by Nick Blackman (Motherwell) on Michael Hart (Hibernian). Indirect free kick taken right-footed by Graham Stack (Hibernian) from own half.

86′ Foul by Anthony Stokes (Hibernian) on Stephen Craigan (Motherwell). Indirect free kick taken left-footed by Stephen Craigan (Motherwell) from own half, passed.

86′ Cross by Steven Saunders (Motherwell), header by Nick Blackman (Motherwell) from centre of penalty area (12 yards), missed left. Goal kick taken long by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

83′ SUB Chris Humphrey (Motherwell) leaves the field to be replaced by Esteban Casagolda.

84′ BOOKING Sol Bamba is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.

80′ Sol Bamba concedes a free kick for a foul on Nick Blackman. Stevie Hammell takes the direct free kick.

79′ Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on David Stephens by Mark Reynolds. Graham Stack takes the free kick.

79′ Shot by Derek Riordan (Hibernian) right-footed from centre of penalty area (12 yards), over the bar. Goal kick taken long by Darren Randolph (Motherwell).

79′ SUB David Stephens (Hibernian) comes on for Colin Nish.

75′ Foul by Chris Hogg (Hibernian) on John Sutton (Motherwell). Direct free kick taken right-footed by Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) from left channel, passed.

75′ Anthony Stokes challenges Stephen Craigan unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Darren Randolph.

75′  GOAL Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) scores from the penalty spot with a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal.

74′ Kevin McBride challenges Nick Blackman unfairly and gives away a penalty.

74′  BOOKING Liam Miller is shown a yellow card.

74′ SUB Nick Blackman (Motherwell) replaces Tom Hateley. 

73′ GOAL Liam Miller (Hibernian) scores with a right-footed shot into the bottom-left of the goal from left-side of the penalty area (12 yards).

70′ Foul by Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) on Chris Humphrey (Motherwell). Free kick crossed right-footed by Tom Hateley (Motherwell) from right wing, clearance by Kevin McBride (Hibernian).

70′ Paul Hanlon challenges Chris Humphrey unfairly and gives away a free kick.

68′ Effort on goal by Anthony Stokes from 20 yards. Darren Randolph makes a save. 

65′ SUB Edwin De Graaf (Hibernian) is replaced by David Wotherspoon.

64′ GOAL Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) scores from the right side of six-yard box (4 yards). Assist by Derek Riordan.

64′ Inswinging corner from left by-line taken right-footed by Derek Riordan (Hibernian) to near post, clearance by Steven Saunders (Motherwell).

63′ Shot by Derek Riordan (Hibernian) volleyed left-footed from left side of penalty area (12 yards), save (parried) by Darren Randolph (Motherwell).

62′ Cross/shot by Chris Humphrey (Motherwell) hits the post. The ball is sent back over by Chris Humphrey, headed effort from inside the area by John Sutton (Motherwell) misses to the left of the target.

60′ Sol Bamba concedes a free kick for a foul on John Sutton. A cross is delivered by Stevie Hammell, Steven Saunders takes a shot. Graham Stack makes a save.

60′ Colin Nish concedes a free kick for a foul on Stephen Craigan. Darren Randolph takes the indirect free kick.

57′ Sol Bamba challenges John Sutton unfairly and gives away a free kick. Stevie Hammell restarts play with the free kick.

57′ Shot by Liam Miller (Hibernian) from 20 yards. Stephen Craigan gets a block in.

55′ Foul by Steve Jennings (Motherwell) on Anthony Stokes (Hibernian). Free kick crossed right-footed by Derek Riordan (Hibernian) from right wing, resulting in ball out of play. Goal kick taken long by Darren Randolph.

53′ Outswinging corner from right by-line taken right-footed by Chris Humphrey (Motherwell) to near post, save (caught) by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

52′ Foul by Colin Nish (Hibernian) on Tom Hateley (Motherwell). Direct free kick taken left-footed by Stevie Hammell (Motherwell) from own half, resulting in open play.

50′ Shot by Anthony Stokes (Hibernian) from 20 yards. Save made by Darren Randolph. Derek Riordan takes a outswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post, Paul Hanlon has a headed effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the left of the target.

50′ Shot by Mark Reynolds (Motherwell) drilled right-footed from left channel (30 yards), missed left. Goal kick taken long by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

48′ The referee blows for offside. Darren Randolph takes the indirect free kick. Foul by Souleymane Bamba on Jamie Murphy, free kick awarded. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Tom Hateley from right channel, Colin Nish makes a clearance.

48′ Shot by Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) drilled right-footed from centre of penalty area (20 yards), save (caught) by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

47′ Steven Saunders (Motherwell) caught offside. Indirect free kick taken right-footed by Graham Stack (Hibernian) from own half, resulting in open play.

46′ Inswinging corner from left by-line taken right-footed by Tom Hateley (Motherwell) to far post, clearance by Chris Hogg (Hibernian).

46′ KICK-OFF The second half begins.

45+2′ HALF-TIME The first half comes to an end.

45+1′ GOAL Anthony Stokes (Hibernian) grabs a goal from close range to the bottom-left corner of the goal. Assist by Sol Bamba.

45+1′ Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell) on Anthony Stokes (Hibernian). Direct free kick taken right-footed by Derek Riordan (Hibernian) from left channel,

45+1 John Sutton (Motherwell) is caught offside. Indirect free kick taken right-footed by Graham Stack (Hibernian) from own half, resulting in open play.

43′ Colin Nish concedes a free kick for a foul on Stephen Craigan. Darren Randolph takes the free kick.

41′ Free kick awarded for a foul by Mark Reynolds on Anthony Stokes. Paul Hanlon sends in a cross, Chris Hogg produces a header from inside the area that goes over the bar.

40′ Tom Hateley takes a shot. Save by Graham Stack.

38′ Shot by Kevin McBride (Hibernian). Save by Darren Randolph. Corner taken right-footed by Derek Riordan from the right by-line, Stevie Hammell manages to make a clearance.

35′ The offside flag is raised against Colin Nish (Hibernian). Free kick taken by Darren Randolph.

35′ Tom Hateley (Motherwell) takes a shot. Save made by Graham Stack.

29′ Outswinging corner from right by-line taken right-footed by Chris Humphrey (Motherwell) to far post, header by Steven Saunders (Motherwell) from centre of penalty area (6 yards), over the bar. Goal kick taken long by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

25′ Shot by Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) volleyed right-footed from left channel (20 yards), save (caught) by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

24′ Goal kick taken long by Darren Randolph (Motherwell).

24′ Stevie Hammell gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Anthony Stokes. Chris Hogg takes the direct free kick.

18′ Anthony Stokes fouled by Keith Lasley, the ref awards a free kick. Shot comes in from Derek Riordan from the free kick.

18′ Effort on goal from 12 yards by John Sutton (Motherwell). Graham Stack makes a save.

17′ Foul by Sol Bamba (Hibernian) on Keith Lasley (Motherwell). Direct free kick taken right-footed by Stephen Craigan (Motherwell) from right wing, resulting in open play.

13′ GOAL John Sutton scores from inside the six-yard box to the bottom-right corner of the goal. Assist by Tom Hateley.

12′ The referee blows for offside against Hibernian. Free kick taken by Darren Randolph.

12′ Goal kick taken short by Graham Stack (Hibernian).

11′ Handball by Kevin McBride (Hibernian). Indirect free kick taken left-footed by Stevie Hammell (Motherwell) from own half, resulting in open play.

10′ John Sutton (Motherwell) caught offside. Indirect free kick taken right-footed by Graham Stack (Hibernian) from own half, resulting in open play.

9′ Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) has an effort at goal from 35 yards. Save made by Graham Stack.

7′ Free kick awarded for a foul by Keith Lasley on Sol Bamba. Paul Hanlon takes the indirect free kick.

5′ Derek Riordan takes the outswinging corner, clearance made by Stephen Craigan.

5′ Anthony Stokes (Hibernian) takes a shot from 12 yards. Save by Darren Randolph.

2′ Chris Humphrey takes a outswinging corner to the near post, clearance by Michael Hart.

1′ KICK-OFF The game gets underway

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell boss Craig Brown:

“I think the penalty we got was the least obvious of three good penalty claims. But I think Craig Thomson is a good referee so I don’t want to criticise him. We have to fault ourselves for not finishing the job.

“We had the chances in the first-half to be in an unassailable lead, if in a Motherwell-Hibs game any lead is unassailable.

“We fault ourselves for not taking those chances and give credit to Hibs, they battled their way back.

“The game should have been out of sight and then we didn’t get a break in terms of decisions. We got one penalty but there was one after it and one before it.

“I said to my colleague Archie (Knox) ‘Aberdeen got three in the one game’. But, as a rule, you don’t get three penalties.”

Hibs boss John Hughes:

“In the first half, it was all Motherwell. Then we got a foothold in the game and started playing some football.

“We’ve got goals in our team and these guys are spirited and want to score goals. Their keeper has produced two or three great saves and I’m delighted we’ve picked up three points.

“I’ve seen us play better football but it was a case of doing what we had to do to win the football match.”

Motherwell midfielder Keith Lasley:

“We didn’t get the breaks. At the second goal I couldn’t tell what had happened, but Stevie (Hammell) claimed for a handball and so did a couple of the other boys. Perhaps the linesman didn’t have a great view of it.

“It’s another aspect of the game that we will look at and think it is another bit of luck which has gone against us.

“The bottom line is we have lost the game, that’s it. The outcome is we have gained no points and it’s already in the past – we now have to take it on with the chin and get on with preparing for the next match.”

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

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New-boys Esteban Casagolda and Nick Blackman share the aim of making an impact for Motherwell ahead of the new SPL season.

Spaniard Casagolda joined on Thursday, quickly followed by Blackman on loan from Blackburn Rovers, just 24 hours later.

And speaking exclusively to motherwellfc.co.uk, both aim to leave their mark in the up-coming campaign.

“This is a great move for me and I really hope to do well,” said Blackman.

“The SPL is a respected league – I can’t wait to get started. I can look at how well Lukas Jutkiewicz did last season and how that helped his career, and take inspiration. I’m certainly not here for a holiday, I am here to work hard.

“My contract at Blackburn is up at the end of the season so this is a big opportunity, either to put myself in the shop window or work myself back into the plans at Ewood Park.

“But, for the time I am at Motherwell, I want to show what I can do, starting tomorrow against Hibs.”

Casagolda is less well-known than his English counterpart but harbours similar hopes and aspirations.

His signing has prompted a great deal of excitement amongst the fans following developments online and he hopes to meet their expectations by putting in performances and scoring goals.

“I am pleased the fans are happy to have me. I am really happy to be here and playing for a club with a great history,” said the 23-year-old.

“It will take time for me to get used to the Scottish game and the culture, but things are going great so far. My job, as a striker, is to score goals not just for myself, but for the club and the supporters.

“Tomorrow’s game with Hibernian is big for the club and if I get a chance, I want to make an early impact.”

New-boys Esteban Casagolda and Nick Blackman were unveiled at Fir Park today after joining the club ahead of the new season. As always, our friends at SNS were there to capture all the action.

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John Sutton is predicting another entertaining game when Motherwell host Hibs in the SPL opener on Sunday.

The two teams shared twelve goals in an incredible 6-6 draw at Fir Park towards the end of last season.

And although a similar barrage of goals is unlikely this time round, Sutton believes it will be another exciting game for the fans.

“The 6-6 draw was a terrific game to be a part of,” said the striker.

“Hopefully from a defensive point of view we won’t be conceding six goals but if we could score six again that would be great.

“After such an open game you would think both managers will think the game has to go more the other way, and try to concentrate on keeping a clean sheet.

“But if you look at the attacking talent Hibs have got, they are always liable to score, and likewise, we have some players that are always a goal threat.”

This weekend may be a curtain raiser for most teams in the SPL but Craig Brown’s men have already played four competitive matches in the Europa League.

Sutton, who netted in the 3-0 victory over Aalesund last week, expects Motherwell will have a big advantage in the early stages of the season.

“We already have a level of intensity because of the competitive matches we have played, he said.

“But it is only a benefit if you get good results, which we have done in Europe. So it has been handy to have those games.

“We do feel like any other team in the SPL in the sense that a new season is a fresh start. We have to get off to a good start because we feel that it is going to be a tight league and to get points on the board early will be important.”

The Steelmen will have two new faces in the squad for the visit of Hibs following the signings of Esteban Casagolda and Nick Blackman.

And Sutton believes there is sufficient quality at the club to deliver success again this term.

“Regardless of the size of the squad we have got some really good players here and there is no reason why we cannot do well again this season,” added the striker.