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Speaking for the first time since sealing his return to Fir Park, Tom Aldred revealed his delight to be back in familiar surroundings. 

The centre-back, who made 17 appearances in a six-month stint with the Steelmen last term, joins the club on a season long loan.

The 27-year-old said: “I’m buzzing to be honest. Just walking back in to the stadium gave me a reminder of the memories I had here last season.

“I’m really excited to be starting a campaign here compared to join half way through like I did last year, so I can’t wait to get going.”

Motherwell Football Club are delighted to confirm the return of defender Tom Aldred.

The 27-year-old joins on loan from Bury for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign.

Tom is of course no stranger to ‘Well fans, having spent the second half of last season also on loan from the Shakers.

The former Scotland youth international won many admirers amongst the Fir Park faithful for his wholehearted, aggressive style in the heart of the claret and amber rearguard.

The ex Carlisle, Watford and Blackpool man, who will wear the number five shirt this season, will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s Lanarkshire derby with Hamilton.

“I’m buzzing to be back,” Tom said. “It doesn’t feel as if I have been away.

“Just getting back into the ground, it reignited great memories of last season here and I am keen to kick on again.

“I am excited to start a season in Scotland and my hope is we can kick on again this term.”

The commanding centre back was a standout in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign for the Steelmen, forming a formidable part of the defence that reached the Scottish Cup final and achieved a club record 20 clean sheets.

During his first stint, Aldred ranked as the top defender outside of Celtic players for defensive duels won, winning 33% of his challenges.

“We’re delighted to welcome Tom back to the club,” ‘Well boss Stephen Robinson added.

“When Cédric Kipré left for Wigan late last week, we immediately turned to Tom.

“He knows the club, the supporters and the majority of the players, so we hope he can transition in fairly quickly.”

The first home fixture of the season pits the Steelmen against local rivals Hamilton in the Ladbrokes Premiership. 

Here are some key numbers and stats you need to know ahead of the first Lanarkshire Derby of the 2018/19 campaign.

17

The number of cards shown by a referee in the meetings between ‘Well and Accies last season.

16 of those were yellows, with a perfect split of eight apiece shown to both the Steelmen and Accies.

Peter Hartley picked up the only red card between the two last term, in an off-the-ball incident during the Hogmanay encounter.

Three

The consecutive run of games Motherwell have gone without conceding a goal at Fir Park.

That run started with a 3-0 victory over Hamilton, in the final home fixture of the 2017/18 campaign.

Since then, Stephen Robinson’s side haven’t had to pick the ball out of the net on their own turf.

264

The combined number of goals Motherwell have scored against Hamilton, dating back to the first encounter between the two back in 1888.

The two rivals have met on 145 occasions, meaning the Steelmen have averaged 1.8 goals per game in the derby.

One

Hamilton’s solitary goal scored is the only difference between the two clubs ahead of Saturday’s encounter.

Both ‘Well and Accies have the same goal difference, which piles added incentive on to both sides in the second game of the season.

From joining on deadline day a year ago to becoming captain and spending almost six months on the sidelines in between, Peter Hartley has had a rollercoaster time at Fir Park already.

Now back at the forefront of the action and back at the heart of the defence, the 30-year-old is leading a team where expectations have risen after a fantastic 2017/18 campaign.

After coming through the Betfred Cup group stage this season undefeated, an opening league defeat to Hibernian had the potential to knock the team back, but Hartley says nobody is concerned and the weekend’s result is already consigned to history.

“Obviously nobody likes a defeat but it’s done and dusted,” he said. “Obviously it’s not nice stuff but it’s three points gone, and it’s only three points, and you move on.

“Regardless of losing three goals, we also had chances and maybe we could have got something on a different day.

“We have to keep perspective. Especially with the injuries we had and the players missing for whatever reason.

“But we also know that the expectation levels are higher. Those are expectations we’ve earned as a team because of what we did last year, and we know the fans might expect more.

“Obviously in the dressing room we have targets and then we got off to a start which wasn’t the best. But our mindset doesn’t change. You go out wanting to win but you come out of it knowing that sometimes you don’t, but you always keep the mindset going forward that any game is winnable.

“Let’s be realistic also. We know the season isn’t going to be determined by one result.”

Having made his move to ML1 permanent in January, and becoming an overnight internet star with his signing video, Hartley suffered a setback with a foot injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign.

The road back to fitness had its ups and downs but the Englishman says he’s feeling almost back to his old self.

“In the first few weeks, I’d say I was quite leggy, just getting back up to speed in terms of the way our team plays,” he explained. “We do a lot of running and there’s a lot of physical play. I feel like I’m getting up to top speed now. I am improving every game and I can feel the progression.

“There have been times I can feel little bits of frustration. There’s peaks and troughs, and it’s all about how you deal with it mentally. I’ve learned with experience not to get too frustrated, just keep doing what I do and it’ll come, and not expect too much too soon.

“It’s a cliche but it’s true – it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve got 38 games to play. You can’t expect to hit the ground running every game. I’m just trying to just get myself back to the standard I know I can set.”

Taking over the captaincy in the summer from close friend Carl McHugh could have been a difficult situation for a player to be in. But with the situation handled with care, and his team-mate fully behind his replacement after taking his own decision to stand down, Hartley says there’s been no noticeable adjustments in the dressing room.

“I haven’t changed anything personally,” he explained. “I’m quite natural with the way I do things anyway. I’m not going to change because I’ve got a responsibility. I felt like I had that responsibility anyway last season being part of the group, so i’ll just keep doing what I do.

“We’ve got a lot of people in the dressing room that anyone can speak to. We’ve got a good team with leaders and experience players. It’s a great group and there’s been no transition period for me.

“It’s been easy. Especially with Carl and how everything has been handled. I’ve been in dressing rooms before where there can be resentment when changes like this happen. But it’s honestly been great and the dressing room dynamic hasn’t changed at all.”

Hartley is fond of a derby clash, taking the game with Hamilton in particular as one that requires a mentality that you’re in an all-or-nothing clash from the off.

“When you play Hamilton, the team that generally wins the battle wins the derby. You seen it last season when we beat them three times and then got beat twice. You’ve got to try and get the first goal and you’ve got to win your battles.

“As players know that it in a derby, you have to play as a team. If you go out as individuals, you’re going to get smashed to pieces.

“We have to have a high tempo but also keep it simple. We haven’t conceded at home yet this season and we’ve won all our games, so we’ve set a standard that Fir Park is a hard place to come.

We can already see that across the league, everyone is making improvements. The standard of of the so-called big teams in this league has just gone through the roof. You see improvements at Hibs, at Celtic, at Rangers, at Aberdeen.

“I think the standards have been raised again and then it falls to us. We can’t stand still. Everything we have done this summer tells you we know we won’t settle for it. We’ve got to keep moving forward and improve ourselves as a team, and we know we’re capable of it.”

Now back at the forefront of the action and back at the heart of the defence, the 30-year-old is leading a team where expectations have risen after a fantastic 2017/18 campaign.

After coming through the Betfred Cup group stage this season undefeated, an opening league defeat to Hibernian had the potential to knock the team back, but Hartley says nobody is concerned and the weekend’s result is already consigned to history.

“Obviously nobody likes a defeat but it’s done and dusted,” he said. “Obviously it’s not nice stuff but it’s three points gone, and it’s only three points, and you move on.

“Regardless of losing three goals, we also had chances and maybe we could have got something on a different day.

“We have to keep perspective. Especially with the injuries we had and the players missing for whatever reason.

“But we also know that the expectation levels are higher. Those are expectations we’ve earned as a team because of what we did last year, and we know the fans might expect more

“Obviously in the dressing room we have targets and then we got off to a start which wasn’t the best. But our mindset doesn’t change. You go out wanting to win but you come out of it knowing that sometimes you don’t, but you always keep the mindset going forward that any game is winnable.

“Let’s be realistic also. We know the season isn’t going to be determined by one result.”

Having made his move to ML1 permanent in January, and becoming an overnight internet star with his signing video, Hartley suffered a setback with a foot injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign.

The road back to fitness had its ups and downs but the Englishman says he’s feeling almost back to his old self.

“In the first few weeks, I’d say I was quite leggy, just getting back up to speed in terms of the way our team plays,” he explained. “We do a lot of running and there’s a lot of physical play. I feel like I’m getting up to top speed now. I am improving every game and I can feel the progression.

“There have been times I can feel little bits of frustration. There’s peaks and troughs, and it’s all about how you deal with it mentally. I’ve learned with experience not to get too frustrated, just keep doing what I do and it’ll come, and not expect too much too soon.

“It’s a cliche but it’s true – it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve got 38 games to play. You can’t expect to hit the ground running every game. I’m just trying to just get myself back to the standard I know I can set.”

Taking over the captaincy in the summer from close friend Carl McHugh could have been a difficult situation for a player to be in. But with the situation handled with care, and his team-mate fully behind his replacement after taking his own decision to stand down, Hartley says there’s been no noticeable adjustments in the dressing room.

“I haven’t changed anything personally,” he explained. “I’m quite natural with the way I do things anyway. I’m not going to change because I’ve got a responsibility. I felt like I had that responsibility anyway last season being part of the group, so i’ll just keep doing what I do.

“We’ve got a lot of people in the dressing room that anyone can speak to. We’ve got a good team with leaders and experience players. It’s a great group and there’s been no transition period for me.

“It’s been easy. Especially with Carl and how everything has been handled. I’ve been in dressing rooms before where there can be resentment when changes like this happen. But it’s honestly been great and the dressing room dynamic hasn’t changed at all.”

Hartley is fond of a derby clash, taking the game with Hamilton in particular as one that requires a mentality that you’re in an all-or-nothing clash from the off.

“When you play Hamilton, the team that generally wins the battle wins the game. You seen it last season when we beat them three times and then got beat twice. You’ve got to try and get the first goal and you’ve got to win your battles.

“As players know that it in a derby, you have to play as a team. If you go out as individuals, you’re going to get smashed to pieces.

“We have to have a high tempo but also keep it simple. We haven’t conceded at home yet this season and we’ve won all our games, so we’ve set a standard that Fir Park is a hard place to come.

We can already see that across the league, everyone is making improvements. The standard of of the so-called big teams in this league has just gone through the roof. You see improvements at Hibs, at Celtic, at Rangers, at Aberdeen.

“I think the standards have been raised again and then it falls to us. We can’t stand still. Everything we have done this summer tells you we know we won’t settle for it. We’ve got to keep moving forward and improve ourselves as a team, and we know we’re capable of it.”

Ahead of the Lanarkshire derby, Keith Lasley sat down to discuss the week ahead in the first interview in our new coffee chat feature.

The assistant boss touches on what can be learned from the opening day defeat at Hibs, and how the team plan to try and bounce back in their first home league fixture of the campaign.

Our interview was filmed at the Windmills Cafe in Motherwell.

Windmills is a social enterprise cafe in the heart of Motherwell which is committed to ensuring young people with learning disabilities have equal access to meaningful work experience opportunities. For more information, visit Windmills Cafe’s website.

Want to get your hands on a unique piece of Motherwell FC memorabilia?

The Well Society are selling a number of dressing room boards the players would see when they came in for match in the 2017/18 season, which have all been signed by the relevant player.

The boards available include those used in the home changing room at Fir Park, and also a selection of bespoke ones from our William Hill Scottish Cup final.

Bidding on boards starts at between £45 and £50 per board. Remember, all money raised will be doubled through the Well Society scheme, meaning additional funds to benefit the club.

The list of the available boards is below. These are available through the Well Society’s eBay page.

Available boards

Richard Tait (Scottish Cup)

George Newell

Carl McHugh (Scottish Cup)

Charles Dunne

Cédric Kipre (Scottish Cup)

Liam Grimshaw (Scottish Cup)

Elliott Frear

Peter Hartley (Scottish Cup)

Craig Tanner

Richard Tait

Carl McHugh

Liam Grimshaw

Gael Bigirimana

Trevor Carson

Chris Cadden

Steven Hammell

Andy Rose

Andy Rose (Scottish Cup)

George Newell (Scottish Cup)

David Turnbull (Scottish Cup)

Louis Moult

Ryan Bowman

The first Lanarkshire derby of the season sees Motherwell host Hamilton Academical on Saturday, 11 August.

Stephen Robinson’s men hold the bragging rights after victory towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign and are looking to bounce back from the disappointment of defeat on the opening day at Hibernian.

You can buy your tickets online right now. Adult tickets are priced at £24, and you can bring up to two kids along with you for just an extra £4.

Concession tickets cost £17. Prices apply to those aged 60 and over, 16-18 year olds and full-time students with a valid matriculation card.

Children aged 15 and under can also get in for £3, if our family pricing doesn’t apply.

All four Motherwell loanees made their first league appearances for their respective clubs at the weekend.

Midfielder Ross MacLean got amongst the goals as Morton drew 2-2 with Queen of the South at Cappielow.

The goal had a real Motherwell flavor to it as well, as the 21-year-old picked up a through pass from former ‘Well striker Bob McHugh and slotted past Alan Martin, another Fir Park alumni.

That put Ray McKinnon’s side 2-0 ahead, but Queens fought back in the second half to earn a share of the spoils.

Jake Hastie was again named in the starting team for Alloa as they faced the long trip north to take on Ross County in Dingwall.

Jim Goodwin’s side held tight for the majority of the match, but were stung late on when Davis Keilor-Dunn netted the winner in the dying moments.

Staying in the Championship, Shea Gordon was also named in the starting XI for Partick Thistle’s defeat to Ayr United at Somerset Park.

The Jags fell victim to the red-hot Lawrence Shankland, whose early brace ensure Ian McCall’s men got their league campaign off to the best possible start.

Neil McLaughlin got 82 minutes as Stirling Albion lost 1-0 to Berwick Rangers at Shielfield.

The youngster was unlucky not to get amongst the goals, a 37th minute effort coming back off the frame of the goal, only for Ross Brown’s second half effort to win it for the Borderers.

Image: Ross Cameron