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Chris Cadden hopes to see Motherwell bounce back as they prepare for a must-win clash against Queen of the South in Group G of the Betfred Cup.

The newly-capped Scotland international believes the squad have what it takes to return to winning ways following the disappointments of Saturday’s draw with Stranraer.

“We’ll bounce back full of confidence,” he said. “We’ve got a good group of lads in the dressing room and we know what we need to do.”

Motherwell Football Club have another new sponsorship partner, bringing on board England-based health cash plan provider Paycare.

The first sponsor of its kind in Scotland, Paycare are a leading not-for-profit organisation which provides cashback on everyday healthcare costs, as well as wider mental, financial and physical support.

Paycare will become the club’s health and wellbeing partner, as well as being the official shorts sponsor, for seasons 2018/19 and 2019/20.

As former back of shirt sponsors of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Paycare is the first English organisation to sponsor a Scottish Premiership team, and the first health cash plan provider to promote its services in Scotland.

“After researching organisations sponsoring English teams, we came across Paycare through their sponsorship of Wolverhampton Wanderers and were immediately drawn to them,” Suzanne Reid, head of commercial and marketing at Motherwell Football Club, explained.

“Their not-for-profit status, ethos of giving back to the communities it serves, and the very nature of what they do to help people from a health and wellbeing perspective really resonated with us. We’re very much looking forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

Paycare dates back to 1874 in Wolverhampton and was set up by the foremen of some of the city’s largest factories in a bid to protect their employees from crippling medical bills, and growing to become a leading provider in the UK.

It works with families, businesses and individuals to provide cashback on services from physiotherapy, reflexology and chiropody, to optical, dental, and vaccinations, as well as wider inclusive support such as a confidential counselling and support service, GP 24/7 app, Paycare Perks – an exclusive online discount platform – and Paycare Partners, which is a dedicated signposting service.

“We’re delighted to be sponsoring Motherwell Football Club,” added Kevin Rogers, CEO of Paycare.

“Given their community ethos and as the Scottish Premiership’s only fully fan-owned club, as well as our drive to make a positive difference to the communities that we serve, our partnership was a natural next step with brilliant synergy.”

As a not-for-profit, Paycare has shared over £2.2m to-date with charities, causes and initiatives UK-wide by donating every spare penny not spent on enhancing its services to policyholders – seeing its stakeholders making a positive difference to their local communities.

Motherwell’s reserve side are in action on Monday night when they travel to face Musselburgh Athletic.

Stephen Craigan’s men will make the trip to the Olivebank Stadium for a 7pm kick off.

Reserve League fixtures will be announced shortly, while the team are also waiting to hear their opponents for the first round of this season’s Irn-Bru Cup.

The reserves will play the winners of the match between BSC Glasgow and East Stirlingshire, who face each other on July 29.

Queen of the South lie in wait next for Motherwell, with the Steelmen needing a win to keep pace with the Doonhamers at the top of their Betfred Cup group.

Here are some key numbers and statistics you need to know ahead of Tuesday’s fixture.

Five

The gap in points between leaders Queen of the South and second-placed Motherwell at the top of Group G.

A Motherwell victory would put them within two points and, with Queens not in action on Saturday, it would mean Stephen Robinson’s side would also need to win at Clyde to be group winners.

A win or a draw for Tuesday’s visitors would guarantee they qualify as group winners, regardless of which side claims the bonus point in the penalty shootout in the event of a draw.

Seven

Stephen Dobbie has always been a reliable goal scorer, but his start to the 2018/19 campaign is remarkable even by his standards.

The Queen of the South forward has netted seven in his side’s opening three games of the season. A double against Stranraer in their 5-3 win was followed up by a hat-trick against Clyde, and then two against Edinburgh City in his last match.

14

It’s been a long time since the two sides clashed on competitive business, with 14 years passing since the last encounter.

In the 2003/04 Scottish Cup, Motherwell played host in the fourth round of the competition, and were ahead early doors through Derek Adams’ penalty.

Alex Burns then completed a double before the interval to put ‘Well 3-0 up, with Queens grabbing two back in a snowy afternoon but ultimately failing to complete the comeback.

450

Having reached last year’s Betfred Cup final, the competition is a relatively happy hunting ground for Motherwell. With that in mind, it’s been five games – or 450 minutes – since a goal was conceded at Fir Park in the competition. In that same time span, 16 goals have been scored by the Steelmen.

Motherwell’s loan players were again in Betfred Cup group stage action across the weekend.

Ross MacLean scored his first goal for Championship side Greenock Morton, as they ran out 2-0 winners at home to Stenhousemuir.

The midfielder netted the opening goal in the game at Cappielow with 33 minutes on the clock, giving manager Ray McKinnon a win in his first match at home.

Jake Hastie caused no end of problems for Dundee United as his Alloa Athletic drew at Tannadice, before going on to claim the bonus point in the penalty shootout.

The young forward won the penalty that gave the Wasps their equaliser in the 1-1 tie, with Frederic Frans knocking him off the ball in the box.

Neil McLaughlin played the full 90 minutes up front as Stirling Albion defeated Peterhead 2-0, while Shea Gordon‘s Partick Thistle had a free weekend and travel to Albion Rovers on Tuesday night.

The Cooper Bar and the Centenary Suite will be open for pre-match food and drink ahead of our match with Queen of the South on Tuesday night.

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. The bars will open from 5.30pm.

Motherwell drew in their second Betfred Cup group match of the 2018/19 season, with League One side Stranraer pegging Stephen Robinson’s side back in a 1-1 draw.

The Stair Park side then also claimed the bonus point in the penalty shootout.

Richard Tait, Trevor Carson and Peter Hartley spoke frankly after the draw with Stranraer in the Betfred Cup.

The experienced trio gave their thoughts on the result against the League One team and the need to bounce back against Queen of the South.

Stephen Robinson has left the team in no doubt of what needs to change after the draw at Stranraer.

Motherwell toiled as they took a point from their League One opponents, before they lost the chance to take a bonus point in a penalty shootout.

Motherwell took a point from their second Betfred Cup group match after a 1-1 draw with League One side Stranraer.

The hosts took the bonus point after winning a penalty shootout by three goals to two.

Peter Hartley had given the visitors the lead in the first half but they were pegged back in the second, with the troublesome Issac Layne netting an equaliser.

Motherwell suffered an early blow as Charles Dunne went off injured with a groin strain after an awkward fall. Andy Rose replaced him, with Carl McHugh slotting into defence.

It took 30 minutes for the first real test of a defence, and it was Cédric Kipré who had to come to the rescue.

Smith’s cross into the box was set up perfectly for Anderson but the big defender managed to get a leg in to hook the ball behind for a corner.

Former ‘Well man Cummins then won the header from the resulting set play, but he headed past the left hand post.

The Steelmen immediately went up the other end. A corner from the left was met by the run of McHugh, but he saw the ball late and headed wide.

The game sparked to life. Main had time in the box 10 yards out but couldn’t find space to get away his shot, and Stranraer immediately countered, with Layne putting the defence under pressure before his shot was blocked by Carson.

It was a warning that jolted Motherwell into life. Winning a free kick on the right touchline, Cadden’s delivery into the box to an array of physical targets found Hartley, who powered a header into the net in his first game since December 30 last year.

Robinson’s men went on the hunt for a second. With the tempo increased, Cadden was next up to try his luck, with a fierce drive from 30 yards whistling past the left hand post.

Motherwell started the second half in the ascendency and the first chance fell to Sammon.

Making his first start, the Irishman got on the end of Rose’s knockdown but a delicate touch resulted only in the ball clipping the crossbar from close range and going over.

Stranraer though still showed dangerous flashes. Two chances in quick succession required the desperate, late interventions from Tait and Carson respectively as the game approached the hour mark.

The third attempt wouldn’t end well for the visitors. Muscling Hartley off it in the aerial challenge, Layne burst through on goal. Composing himself on the angle on the right hand side, his low drive beat Carson and found the bottom left corner of the net.

Manager Robinson rang the changes soon after. Midweek hat-trick scorer Elliott Frear and Ryan Bowman entered the fray, as the visitors looked to up their urgency.

Cadden had another chance almost immediately. Driving in from the right, his cross from the edge of the box sailed across with no takers, and just narrowly avoided sneaking in at the far post itself.

Stranraer had the golden chance to take the lead with 12 minutes left on the clock. With Layne again having got the better of Hartley, he played a perfectly-timed through ball for substitute Mark Lamont.

Bearing down on goal one versus one against Carson, he had the time to pick his spot. When he pulled the trigger he beat the goalkeeper, but his effort rattled the crossbar and was eventually cleared.

Motherwell tried to flood forward to get a winner but struggled to carve out further opportunities to test goalkeeper Currie, and the match went to penalties for the prize of a bonus point.

Motherwell: Carson; Tait, Kipré, Hartley, Dunne (Rose 3), Taylor-Sinclair; McHugh (Frear 63), Cadden, Grimshaw; Main, Sammon (Bowman 68).

Subs not used: Gillespie, Rodríguez Gorrín, Donnelly, Johnson.