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‘Well starlet Jack McMillan has committed his future to the club, signing a new two-and-a-half-year contract.

The 18-year old right back has impressed since making his first-team debut, particularly playing on the unfamiliar left hand side role in the absence of Stevie Hammell and Joe Chalmers.

Now McMillan has joined the likes of Chris Cadden and Allan Campbell in committing his future to the Steelmen.

[pullquote]I had been looking forward to just getting myself in to the first team and I guess I’ve managed to take my chance and it’s been rewarded with the deal today and I’m really pleased.[/pullquote]

Speaking to motherwellfc.co.uk, he said: “I had been looking forward to just getting myself in to the first team and I guess I’ve managed to take my chance and it’s been rewarded with the deal today and I’m really pleased.”

Stepping up to the first team, Jack admitted Under 20s coach Stephen Craigan has been a huge part in his progression.

He said: “He’s played a huge part and one of the things he said to me when I first went in to the first team was that the speed was so much higher, and I’ve noticed it mentally. You can switch off at points in the 20s and not necessarily be punished for it, but you just can’t afford to switch off at any stage at this level.”

[pullquote]I’m delighted that Jack has extended his stay with us. It is just reward for his hard work and standout performances so far this season, and long may that continue.[/pullquote]

He added: “Crags said to me that when I go into the first team I have to be as consistent as I can be and I need to make sure I keep this up.”

‘Well boss Mark McGhee added: “I’m delighted that Jack has extended his stay with us. It is just reward for his hard work and standout performances so far this season, and long may that continue.

“We’ve seen the breakout of a number of youngsters this season, and we are working to secure them to new contracts as well.

“It is a huge part of what we do here at Motherwell and it is extremely pleasing seeing players make the step up like Jack has. The task for them all is to cement their place in the starting eleven of the weeks, months and years ahead.”

Motherwell host Celtic in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow afternoon, hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s loss away to Hearts.

It will be a tough fixture for the Steelmen though, with tomorrow’s opponents unbeaten domestically and newly crowned league cup winners.

This weekend is the third meeting between the two sides this term, following 5-0 and 2-0 losses both at Parkhead.

The Fir Parkers will still be without the recovering Carl McHugh and Joe Chalmers, but are otherwise full strength. While Celtic will miss Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney as the Glasgow outfit arrive in Lanarkshire.

Despite missing two of their biggest talents, Celtic still boast fantastic strength in depth and Motherwell assistant manager James McFadden is aware of their threat, but is confident ahead of tomorrow’s big clash.

When asked what the mind-set has to be like when facing a side in Celtic’s sort of form, McFadden called for “positivity”.

He said: “We have to be positive. We go in to every game believing we’re going to win the game, we set up to win the game and it will be the same again on Saturday.

We go in to every game believing we’re going to win the game, we set up to win the game and it will be the same again on Saturday.

“We’re under no illusions, they’re the best team in the league but they’re beatable and the mind-set for us is we’ll go out there on Saturday to win the game.”

This Saturday is the third meeting between the sides this term, following two defeats at Parkhead, but McFadden believes playing at home offers Motherwell a chance to return to winning ways.

He said: “If you look at the league cup game, obviously it was a resounding defeat for us, but the league game wasn’t and we caused them enough problems in that game.

“I think we’ve shown that we’ve dealt with them probably a bit better than most teams in the league and that’s the confidence we take in this weekend.

“We’ve got them at home and it’s a chance for us to go and put on a show for our fans and show everybody else that they are beatable.”

We also need to watch for mistakes because in the end the game at Parkhead cost us because we made two mistakes and we were punished for them.

He added: “You can’t afford to waste chances in any game but especially against Celtic, we know we need to be at our best.

“We also need to watch for mistakes because in the end the game at Parkhead cost us because we made two mistakes and we were punished for them. If we limit our mistakes and take our chances I think we’ll be all right.”

‘Keeper Craig Samson feels the home advantage could give Motherwell a boost ahead of this Saturday’s league clash.

And he added that the standard of opposition doesn’t concern him as a goalkeeper, he just wants to perform as best as he can every single week.

Samson said: “It’s a game that we’ve got to go into and focus on the match and have a system that the manager has put in place that we’ll work on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get something out of the game.

“As a goalkeeper you’ve got to go in to the game and hope that you can perform the way that you can every week – it doesn’t make a difference if it’s Celtic, Kilmarnock or Dundee.”

Last time the two sides met, the Steelmen lost narrowly 2-0 at Parkhead, and Samson admitted the team stuck to what they had prepared but were unlucky.

He said: “I think we had a game plan that day that the boys put in to place very well and we were unfortunate at times not to get something out the game, but that was a while ago, so we’ve just got to look in to this one now.

[pullquote]We’ve got to go into and focus on the match and have a system that the manager has put in place that we’ll work on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get something out of the game.[/pullquote]

“It’s at home this time. We’ve played Celtic twice this season and they’ve both been at Parkhead so we’ve got to take our home form in to the game on Saturday and hopefully get something out of the game here.”

At Fir Park it’s a lot different, we’ve got our fans there wanting us to win, there’s not as much noise from the Celtic fans and it does make a difference.

He added: “It’s a different task for them and a different task for us to play them at our home stadium.

“It’s not about the atmosphere being more daunting, it’s just that you want to play in front of your own fans and when you play away to Celtic there’s 60,000 fans who want you to get beat, whereas here at Fir Park it’s a lot different, we’ve got our fans there wanting us to win, there’s not as much noise from the Celtic fans and it does make a difference.”

He continued: “Everybody would rather play at home rather than away – it’s your own surroundings, you know everything about the club, they don’t know that when they’re walking in the door, some of them wont have played here before, so that’s something hopefully we can use to our advantage on Saturday.”

Celtic come in to tomorrow’s match as newly crowned League Cup champions, undefeated in the Ladbrokes Premiership and in the middle of domestic ten game winning streak.

Scoring freely under new manager Brendan Rodgers, the Parkhead outfit look every bit like the league favourites they are tipped to be, registering some impressive results – including a 6-1 victory over Kilmarnock as well as 5-1 and 4-1 wins over Rangers and Aberdeen respectively.

Draws with Borussia Mönchengladbach away from home and Manchester City at Parkhead in the Champions League have been additional highlights for Celtic fans this season so far.

However a 2-0 defeat at home to Barcelona last week eliminated the Hoops from Europe after a brace from Lionel Messi sealed Group C for the Catalans.

But perhaps the most important game of the week for the Glasgow side was their clash with Aberdeen in the League Cup final last weekend.

And they made no mistake as they stormed to a 3-0 victory over the Northerners – securing manager Brendan Rodgers first piece of silverware in Scotland at the first possible opportunity.

When skipper Scott Brown lifted the cup, it was a historic moment as it was the clubs 100th trophy.

It was a comfortable afternoon for the Hoops as Rogic launched a precise strike in to the far corner before Forrest almost recreated the finish before the half time break.

In the second half, Dembele made no mistake from the penalty spot as Celtic kept their clean sheet and extended their domestic winning streak to ten matches.

The French centre forward has slotted in to Rodgers team with ease so far and is the Northern Irishman’s main source of goals. Dembele has bagged 17 in 27 appearances this season, including a hattrick in the Old Firm victory and a brace against Manchester City.

The sheer impact of the summer signing is even more impressive given he is just 20 years of age.

One of the biggest strengths Celtic possess is the depth of their squad, with last seasons top scorer Leigh Griffiths limited to 434 minutes of action in the league so far, compared to Dembele’s 864.

Then there are players like James Forrest, Scott Sinclair, Tom Rogic, Patrick Roberts, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven, Ryan Christie and Kris Commons all competing for the three positions in behind the striker.

‘Well boss Mark McGhee will be more than familiar with a few of Celtic’s key players tomorrow afternoon, not only from past meetings between the two sides but also due to his close relationship with the Scottish Internationals in Rodgers ranks.

Scott Brown, Craig Gordon, Leigh Griffiths and James Forrest have all had recent call-ups to Gordon Strachan’s side and are key components for Celtic.

In recent weeks, Stuart Armstrong has also sparked into form under Rodgers, scoring the winner away to Kilmarnock two weeks ago to extend the clubs winning streak and their lead at the summit of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

But the biggest recruit in the summer was arguably the manager, Brendan Rodgers.

Under the ex-Liverpool boss, the Hoops have gained their fair share of plaudits and the Northern Irishman is exciting Celtic fans across the globe.

However, Saturday’s opponents will come in to the match knowing that the last time they lost a home league game at Parkhead was against the Steelmen last season, when a Louis Moult brace brought the Fir Parkers from behind to beat Ronny Deila’s Celtic 2-1 on their own patch.

And while the Bhoys are a completely different side, playing an attractive, exciting and fast brand of football this season – the Steelmen will be confident in the knowledge that they have what it takes to overcome Celtic.

Rodgers side arrive at Fir Park this afternoon hungry to maintain and extend their unbeaten run in domestic football, but with the Steelmen themselves hungry to bounce back to winning ways following the disappointing loss against Hearts, it makes for an interesting game in Lanarkshire tomorrow.

‘Keeper Craig Samson feels the home advantage could give Motherwell a boost ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Celtic.

And he added that the standard of opposition doesn’t concern him as a goalkeeper, he just wants to perform as best as he can every single week.

Speaking to the press this morning, Samson said: “It’s a game that we’ve got to go into and focus on the match and have a system that the manager has put in place that we’ll work on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get something out of the game.

“As a goalkeeper you’ve got to go in to the game and hope that you can perform the way that you can every week – it doesn’t make a difference if it’s Celtic, Kilmarnock or Dundee.”

[pullquote]We’ve got to go into and focus on the match and have a system that the manager has put in place that we’ll work on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get something out of the game.[/pullquote]

Last time the two sides met, the Steelmen lost narrowly 2-0 at Parkhead, and Samson admitted the team stuck to what they had prepared but were unlucky.

He said: “I think we had a game plan that day that the boys put in to place very well and we were unfortunate at times not to get something out the game, but that was a while ago, so we’ve just got to look in to this one now.

“It’s at home this time. We’ve played Celtic twice this season and they’ve both been at Parkhead so we’ve got to take our home form in to the game on Saturday and hopefully get something out of the game here.”

[pullquote]At Fir Park it’s a lot different, we’ve got our fans there wanting us to win, there’s not as much noise from the Celtic fans and it does make a difference.[/pullquote]

He added: “It’s a different task for them and a different task for us to play them at our home stadium.

“It’s not about the atmosphere being more daunting, it’s just that you want to play in front of your own fans and when you play away to Celtic there’s 60,000 fans who want you to get beat, whereas here at Fir Park it’s a lot different, we’ve got our fans there wanting us to win, there’s not as much noise from the Celtic fans and it does make a difference.”

He continued: “Everybody would rather play at home rather than away – it’s your own surroundings, you know everything about the club, they don’t know that when they’re walking in the door, some of them wont have played here before, so that’s something hopefully we can use to our advantage on Saturday.”

‘Well assistant boss James McFadden admits that the squad are full of belief going in to Saturday’s league clash with Celtic.

And while he admitted that the Glaswegian side will be a tough challenge, he also made sure to express that the Steelmen have prepared for the match expecting to go in and win it.

When asked what the mind-set has to be like when facing a side in Celtic’s sort of form, McFadden called for “positivity”.

He said: “We have to be positive. We go in to every game believing we’re going to win the game, we set up to win the game and it will be the same again on Saturday.

[pullquote]We go in to every game believing we’re going to win the game, we set up to win the game and it will be the same again on Saturday.[/pullquote]

“We’re under no illusions, they’re the best team in the league but they’re beatable and the mind-set for us is we’ll go out there on Saturday to win the game.”

This Saturday is the third meeting between the sides this term, following two defeats at Parkhead, but McFadden believes playing at home offers Motherwell a chance to return to winning ways.

He said: “If you look at the league cup game, obviously it was a resounding defeat for us, but the league game wasn’t and we caused them enough problems in that game.

“I think we’ve shown that we’ve dealt with them probably a bit better than most teams in the league and that’s the confidence we take in this weekend.

“We’ve got them at home and it’s a chance for us to go and put on a show for our fans and show everybody else that they are beatable.”

[pullquote]We also need to watch for mistakes because in the end the game at Parkhead cost us because we made two mistakes and we were punished for them.[/pullquote]

He added: “You can’t afford to waste chances in any game but especially against Celtic, we know we need to be at our best.

“We also need to watch for mistakes because in the end the game at Parkhead cost us because we made two mistakes and we were punished for them. If we limit our mistakes and take our chances I think we’ll be all right.”

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has enjoyed a successful start to his reign at the club, and McFadden admitted he likes the way his side plays.

He said: “The initial appointment brought about excitement for everybody and naturally that gave the players a lift.

“He’s worked at the highest level, he knows what he’s doing and I think the intensity of their play is excellent, the way they want to pass the ball is great to see but we’ll need to combat that and play our own game as well and as I said we’re confident of getting a result.”

Motherwell Football Club and sponsor Motorpoint want to give you £100 towards your Christmas shopping!

All you have to do is find one of the Motorpoint promotional team on Saturday when we face Celtic at Fir Park and you could be the lucky winner of £100 of Love2Shop vouchers.

Here is how to win:

• Find one of the Motorpoint Team
• Take a selfie in the Motorpoint windscreen
• Post it on Facebook or Twitter before Kick off at 12.15pm
• Tag in @motorpoint and @motherwellfc
• Wait until half time and you could be on the pitch collecting your prize!
• Spend, Spend, Spend

Highlights from New Western Park where Motherwell’s Under 20s drew 1-1 with St Mirren in the Development League.

U20s assistant manager Keith Lasley admitted that the youngsters inability to take advantage of their chances cost them points against St Mirren this afternoon.

A Dylan Mackin goal gave the Steelmen an early lead but the Saints struck back through Andy Webster after half an hour, although neither side managed to find the winning goal in the hour that remained.

Speaking to MFC TV after the match, Lasley admitted the boys played well but could have done better in front of goal.

He said: “We had a lot of good play up until the final third but ultimately it’s what you do in that final third that matters. We had a lot of shots blocked, crosses that were over hit or under hit, so it was really the final product that was lacking.”

[pullquote]We had a lot of good play up until the final third but ultimately it’s what you do in that final third that matters.[/pullquote]

David Ferguson and Jack McMillan, who are continuing to break in to the first team, both missed out and Lasley admitted that their presence may be missed but that is the aim of all the youngsters waiting to break through.

He said: “They are missed, but ultimately that is the goal here at Motherwell, to get these boys through to the first team and Crags is doing a great job here on a day to day basis preparing them as he is. It’s great, that’s what we want and in our opinion there are more to come.

“Hopefully from now and throughout the season the boys can show that they’re capable of making that step, the manager was here to watch them again and they need to showcase their abilities so they can be that next one to make the step in to the first team.”

[pullquote]We felt as if we started the game really well, we probably could have been more than just the one ahead at some stages but then we lost a sloppy goal from the set piece.[/pullquote]

St Mirren went close to snatching a winner in the dying seconds of the match, something the assistant manager admits would have been a punishment for missed opportunities.

He said: “We felt as if we started the game really well, we probably could have been more than just the one ahead at some stages but then we lost a sloppy goal from the set piece which seemed like the only way they would get back in to the game.

“They could have snatched it at the end and that’s the message we gave the boys – you can play well and you can do many good things in a game but ultimately if you don’t put the ball in the back of the net it can come back to haunt you.”

Motherwell U20s took an early lead but failed to secure the three points as they drew 1-1 away to St Mirren in the Development League.

A Dylan Mackin finish in the opening seconds was cancelled out by a tap-in from Andy Webster on an afternoon when the Steelmen dominated much of the game.

Stephen Craigan named a few changes as his side returned to action following last week’s break – with Tom Fry shifted to an unfamiliar right back role and Dean Brill starting between the sticks.

It was a lightning quick start for the Steelmen who took the lead just seconds after the referee got the game underway.

A terrific delivery from the left flank from Adam Livingstone was turned neatly beyond St Mirren keeper Reece Willison from six yards by Dylan Mackin with a neat side-footed finish.

That didn’t settle the U20s but instead made them appear hungry for more – with MacLean, Turnbull, Thomas and Hastie all trying their luck from around 20 yards within the opening 15 minutes, but it remained 0-1.

It perhaps should have been two when Fry burst forward from right-back and put in a near perfect low ball across the corridor of uncertainty, but no one could get on the end of it and St Mirren remained just the one goal behind.

Craigan’s side continued to dominate for the opening 30 minutes but with ten minutes remaining in the half, the Saints clawed one back.

It was against the run of play but it was cheap from Motherwell defensively.

A free kick was swung into the box by Connor O’Keefe and it was glanced onto the post via the finger tips of ‘Well stopper Brill – only for the rebound to fall to Andy Webster who tapped it in to an empty net.

There were numerous calls for handball after Thomas’ cross deflected up on to the hand of Webster, but the referee waved play on and minutes later brought the first half to a close.

Craigan replaced Adam Livingstone with Jordan Armstrong at the break.

The second half offered a number of chances for either side in the opening exchanges – St Mirren went close through Orsi from close range then O’Keefe from outside the box, but it was Motherwell who went closest through goal scorer Mackin.

Allan Campbell did superbly to win the ball despite the battling of two St Mirren players, slowing the ball to fall to Hastie. The winger charged inside from the left and teed up Motherwell’s number nine who took a touch and curled an incredible strike towards the top corner. Saints stopper Willison stood and watched and was ultimately relieved to see it come crashing back off the bar.

St Mirren made their first change of the afternoon just before the hour mark, withdrawing goal scorer Webster and replacing him with Greig McNaughton.

Straight after the change, Mackin went close from just inside the box, but on his right foot the goal scorer failed to hit the target.

Motherwell started to ramp up their game a notch with around 25 minutes left – searching for a winner.

Thomas in particular looked lively and was involved heavily in the Fir Parkers attacks.

Hastie linked-up well with the midfielder, who looked up and charged towards the Saints goal before curling a low effort on target, but Willison saved comfortably.

Two minutes later, the ‘Well number seven nearly scored a wonder goal, collecting the ball on the edge of the box before beating his man with a Cruyff turn and striking a powerful effort over the bar.

He was at the heart of things just seconds later, from a throw in he beat his marker with ease and burst through the centre of the park, unleashing a good effort from 20 yards, but Willison did well to get across and gather it.

Dylan Mackin was inches away from grabbing a winner in the 85^th minute, but his strike took a slight deflection and went wide. From the corner, the big striker appeared to be fouled in the box and there were calls for a penalty, but again the referee said no.

It nearly cost the Steelmen too, as McLear struck inches over the crossbar after a neat cutback with the last kick of the game.

It finished all square and the draw means the youngsters sit fourth in the Development League table, but are now without a win in their last three matches.

Referee for this Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership match against Celtic at Fir Park is Kevin Clancy.

It will be Kevin’s third Motherwell involvement of the season and second as referee.

The first involvement as referee came in the BetFred Cup match against Celtic after he was on fourth official duties for the Rangers clash in the group stages.

Kevin was in the middle as a dominant Celtic overturned Motherwell 5-0 in Glasgow before they went on to lift the trophy last weekend.

Prior to the Celtic clash, it had been a while since the referee had officiated a Steelmen match.

It was back in October 2014, when Stuart McCall’s side lost 2-1 at McDiarmid Park.

He’ll be a relatively familiar face given this will be his eleventh Motherwell game as referee.

He took charge of a swashbuckling 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tanandice in September 2013 and that was followed a couple of months later with the 1-0 win at Pittodrie on Boxing Day, when a resolute ‘Well came away with all three points thanks to Ainsworth’s winner.

The 33-year-old was the man in the middle again that season for the vital 2-1 win over Saints when Ainsworth and McManus got on the score sheet to put the Steelmen on the road to SPFL Premiership runners-up.

His only other Motherwell match outwith the League was in the 2011/12 campaign in the Scottish Cup, where he was the man in the middle as the Fir Parkers demolished Queen’s Park 4-0, a certain Henrik Ojamaa smashing home a fabulous debut goal.

His overall record in charge of Motherwell reads ten matches in total, Motherwell winning four, drawing two and losing four. ‘Well have scored twelve and conceded fifteen.

There have been twenty-seven cautions dished out in those matches, sixteen of them to a man wearing Claret and Amber and zero dismissals.

Kevin will be ably assisted by Graham Chambers and Mark McLean with Alan Muir on Fourth Official duties.

Motherwell U20s are back in action tomorrow afternoon following a break from action last week.

And Stephen Craigan’s side will be facing St. Mirren at New Western Park, Renfrew, with kick-off at 1pm.

The Paisley outfit currently sit ninth in the Development League table, five points behind the young Steelmen who sit fifth on 22 points.

The Saints come in to the match on the back of a 1-4 loss at home to Dundee last week but are in a good spell of form with two wins in their last three.

Motherwell on the other hand will be hoping to return to the sort of form they enjoyed early in the season, but will continue to have to do without youngsters Jack McMillan and David Ferguson who continue their break in to the first team.

The U20s last bit of action was an intense goalless draw away to Dundee and prior to that was the disappointing 1-0 loss to Hearts, making tomorrow afternoons clash an interesting one with the Fir Parkers hungry to return to winning ways.

You can follow all the action live on twitter @MotherwellFC as well as catch the highlights on MFC TV’s official YouTube channel tomorrow.