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Chief executive Alan Burrows provides an insight into the work going on behind the scenes at Fir Park this summer to ensure nobody becomes complacent and a strong 2017/18 season is built upon.

Motherwell Ladies tightened their grip on top spot of the SWPL2 table with an excellent 7-2 victory over Central Girls at Alloa’s Indodrill Stadium.

It is the ninth successive league win for the women of steel, who have now netted 46 times in their opening 10 league fixtures.

They had to do things the hard way however, after falling behind inside the opening minute when Kim McAlpine struck a superb dipping effort into the roof of Clare Johnstone’s net.

Eddie Wolecki Black’s side responded brightly with Suzanne Mulvey, Sammy Hare and Lauryn Reside all coming close, before Hare levelled just after the 20 minute mark – glancing home Hayley Cunningham’s pinpoint free kick.

Two minutes later, Motherwell completed the turnaround. Mulvey linked with Kirsty McLaughlin, who did brilliantly to release Reside. She angled a shot beyond the keeper that found the net off the inside of the post for her first goal of the season.

With four minutes remaining of the first half, ‘Well went 3-1 ahead. Cunningham’s cross was nodded on by Caitlin Russell and then Niamh Johnston, before a mix-up in the Central defence ended with Shaney McCabe heading into her own net.

It was harsh on the hosts who had more than held their own in a fiercely contested first half, but it wasn’t to be the end of the action. A minute before half time, Abbie Callaghan’s free kick wasn’t cleared by the Motherwell defence and Kimberley-Anne McAlpine lashed the ball into the net from the edge of the box.

After conceding early and late in the first 45 minutes, it was imperative Motherwell were quick out of the traps as the second half began. They managed to do exactly that, scoring within the first 90 seconds.

Russell did well to cut back for Hare, who was denied by an excellent stop. But ‘Well were quick to react and McLaughlin laid the ball back to Cunningham to guide a low effort beyond the keeper.

‘Well were playing with great intensity, so it came as little surprise on 55 minutes when the persistence of Reside in closing down what seemed like a lost cause was rewarded by a poor error in the Central defence. Hare was alert to pounce on the loose ball before blasting into the empty net to stretch the lead to 5-2.

Having played a big role in Motherwell’s attacking threat, Russell got into scoring act with 20 remaining – firing home after the home defence failed to deal with Cunningham’s dangerous corner. The provider of the sixth would then close the scoring on 76 minutes when she converted Mulvey’s cross.

The visitors continued to threaten and Megan Burns would rattle the crossbar in the closing stages and although there were no further goals, little could take the shine off what was a superb second half display from Motherwell.

Motherwell now maintain their eight-point advantage at the top of the table and – not for the first time – demonstrated their ability to fightback from a goal behind.

Next up is a trip north to face Aberdeen next Sunday.

Motherwell will face Queen of the South, Clyde, Edinburgh City and Stranraer in the group stage of the 2018/19 Betfred Cup.

The Steelmen, the defeated finalists in the 2017/18 competition, were top seeds in Friday’s draw and will play in Group G.

The group stage will see us play four games across five match dates: 14 July, 18 July, 21 July, 25 July and 28 July.

Fixtures will be announced in due course, following broadcast selections by BT Sport.

Attendances at Fir Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership saw the biggest increase across the league in the 2017/18 season.

A total of 108,969 people watched our league games across the campaign, a rise of 28% from 2016/17.

Motherwell home matches were the seventh highest attended in the country and were the biggest outside of teams from the major cities.

With the team having reached both cup finals and narrowly missing out on a place in the top six, there’s great momentum behind the side as we prepare for the new season.

Your continued support is vital to ensure we keep building on what we’ve started. Season tickets for 2018/19 are on sale now and are available at a discounted rate until 8 June.

To buy, just head to http://tickets.motherwellfc.co.uk. You can buy online quickly and easily, with the ability to choose and pay for your seat in just a few clicks. For further information, you can read our guide to season tickets here.

SEASON TICKET PRICES

The following players will leave the club when their contract expires at the end on 31 May 2018.

• Russell Griffiths
• Deimantas Petravičius
• Ellis Plummer
• Luke Watt (Under 20s)
• Dylan King (Under 20s)

The following loans will expire when the summer transfer window opens again in early June:

• Tom Aldred (Bury)
• Nadir Çiftçi (Celtic)
• Stephen Hendrie (Southend United)

Stephen Craigan has offered the following youngsters extended terms with the club:

• Shea Gordon
• Adam Livingstone
• Barry Maguire
• James Scott
• Peter Morrison
• Jason Krones
• Jordan Armstrong
• Shaun Bowers
• Alfredo Agyeman

‘Well boss Stephen Robinson said: “I would like to put on record my thanks to each of the lads leaving the club this week.

“Although Russell, Deimantas and Ellis weren’t regular starters in our first team for whatever reason, they contributed significantly by being great professionals and pushing those who were playing.

“I’d also like to record my appreciation to Tom, Nadir and Stephen, who joined us during the January window and helped us finish the season so strongly.

“We have been working on recruiting new players over the last few weeks. This summer will be different to last, where we made wholesale changes to the squad. We are more concentrated on fine tuning and tweaking certain areas, adding things we think we’re missing and that’s our mission.”

Motherwell Football Club would like to sincerely thank every player who is leaving Fir Park for the last time and wish them all every success in their future career.

Chris Cadden, Allan Campbell and Ryan Bowman reflect on the William Hill Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic.

‘Well boss Stephen Robinson reflects on a spirited performance in the Scottish Cup final, as his side fall short against Celtic.

A battling, determined Motherwell side fell narrowly short of glory in the Scottish Cup, losing 2-0 against Celtic at Hampden. 

After falling behind to two top quality strikes from Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham in the opening 25 minutes, the Steelmen showed great spirit, pressing the game in the second half and being extremely unlucky not to be rewarded by at least one goal for their efforts.

Motherwell’s outstanding season and amazing run in the cups, which began at Hampden in mid-July, ended at the National Stadium 10 months later. The players, who already written themselves into the history books with two cup final appearances in one season, fell just short of becoming legends by adding their names to the short list of Motherwell Scottish Cup winners.

Optimism around the club and town were well founded given the Fir Parker’s impressive cup record this season. However, for a second time, ‘Well found Celtic an unsurmountable hurdle in the final.

In a bright positive start, the Steelmen carved out the first couple of half chances. After two minutes a slick move down the right wing involving Liam Grimshaw and Chris Cadden resulted in Curtis Main outmuscling Kris Ajer, but, as the ball was played across the edge of the box the chance was lost.

A couple of minutes later, Ryan Bowman’s half volley from 8 yards was deflected into Main’s path, but the striker couldn’t get enough purchase on the ball to direct it towards Craig Gordon’s goal.

In the 11th minute and out of nothing, the Parkhead men took the lead. Tom Alred’s header cleared the box but only as far as McGregor, who took the ball in his stride before unleashing a terrific drive high past Trevor Carson and into the top corner to silence the ‘Well fans behind that goal.

That gave Celtic the iniative and after 25 minutes they produced another clinical finish to go two ahead. Moussa Dembele was being closely guarded at the edge of the box but when he rolled the ball back to Olivier Ntcham the midfielder drilled a shot through a packed box and into the corner to put Celtic firmly in the driving seat.

To their credit, ‘Well’s response was immediate with Cadden’s angled shot forcing a save from Gordon at his near post. Two minutes later, the Fir Park men passed up their best chance of the first half.

Bowman’s clever back heel at the edge of the box set up the ball perfectly for Main, but attempting to curl the ball into the top corner, he sent his shot over the bar.

‘Well fans were on their feet within minutes of the restart as ‘Well came close to pulling a goal back. Another slick move down the right saw Cadden sending Grimshaw in behind the Celt’s defence. His cut back found Main, who turned a fired a shot on target until Gordon leapt to direct the ball over the bar.

With Cadden more central to support the front two, ‘Well looked more like themselves. Allan Campbell, who continually held his ground against the more experienced Celtic midfield, wriggled his way across the box before curling his shot into Gordon’s arms.

After 55 minutes, and with a sense that they might be getting a hold of the game, Stephen Robinson changed his midfield formation sending on Gael Bigirimana for Carl McHugh.

The substitute then engineered a number of openings as ‘Well looked for a goal that their second half performance merited.

In the 62nd minute, Bowman’s pass found Main on the left and his attempt to get a return ball in front of goal was only denied as Mikael Lustig cleared the ball over his own bar.

From Bigirimana’s corner, the ball was cleared as far as Cadden and from 18 yards his crisp drive was well saved by Gordon.

Motherwell tried to maintain the pressure on the Gordon’s goal and Bigirimana’s drive was defelcted wide before Aldred’s header was held under the bar by the Celtic ‘keeper.

At the other end, Carson was largely idle until the 70th minute when he produced a terrific double save. Dembele seemed certain to bullet home his header at the back post but Carson reacted tremendously to claw the ball away and then get back to his feet to block the striker’s second attempt with his feet.

That allowed Motherwell to believe that a goal and a remarkable fightback was still on the cards. And they came agonizingly close to that goal 20 minutes from time.

Cadden’s burst through the centre of Celtic back four was abruptly ended when Dedryck Boyata hauled him back just outside the box. While the ‘Well players argued for a penalty, Bigirimana remained focused only to watch his measured free kick bend the ball beyond the diving Gordon and off the junction of the keeper’s cross bar and post.

A goal then would have set up a a grandstand finish as ‘Well came again within inches of scoring when Cadden nodded Richard Tait’s ball across the face of an open goal only to find Elliot Frear just failing to get a touch.

Disappointed at the final whistle, the players raised themselves from the Hampden turf to acknowledge the ovation from the huge Motherwell support who remained until after the final whistle to thank their side for a season which will be etched into the memory of the fans.