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It’s time to cast your vote for the 2019/20 Motherwell FC player of the year awards.

Fans can make their pick for the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year prizes now.

Just fill out our form to choose yours. We’ll announce the winners soon.

Charles Dunne has agreed a new short-term deal with the club.

The defender, who first joined in the summer of 2017, will return as he continues his recovery from a recent operation.

Charles’ contract will run until the end of December 2020. The club will help him with his comeback from injury, with a view to assessing the possibility for a new, longer deal at that point.

“Firstly, I’m really happy to have extended my deal,” said the player. “This is my home. I’ve been here for many years and I feel comfortable here.

“I appreciate the club offering me a deal. It’s been the hardest year of my life injury-wise but they’ve been great with me.

“It’s been frustrating trying to get back but finding myself in pain, and unable to overcome it. I’ve had my operation, I feel better now and I want to build on it.

“My main objective is to get back training, get fit, get back on the pitch and be pain free. It’s all about positive vibes from here.

“I’m hoping to be able to start stepping up my recovery soon. I want to show everyone again what I can do and get back to my best.”

Dunne, 27, has played 78 times for the club, scoring once.

The pacy and popular central defender missed the majority of the 2019/20 campaign through injury but remained an influential figure at Fir Park.

“The club have tried to put a contract together to help Charles through a difficult period of rehabilitation and injuries,” said manager Stephen Robinson.

“We are hoping to get Charles back to full fitness in the coming months. We know what an asset he can be to the squad.”

Mark O’Hara has returned to Motherwell Football Club on a permanent deal.

The midfielder, who made 20 appearances during a loan spell last campaign, has signed a two-year contract with the club.

We have paid Peterborough United a nominal sum to secure his services. He will move subject to international clearance when the summer transfer window opens.

“Mark showed last season what he can bring to the football club,” manager Stephen Robinson said. “I am delighted to bring him here permanently.

“He’s a talented, versatile player who all the coaching staff greatly admire given his ability, but also his attitude and willingness to learn and develop.

“I believe he will kick on and become a huge asset for Motherwell in the seasons ahead.”

O’Hara, 24, started his career at Kilmarnock, before a spell at Dundee led to a move to Peterborough. He also spent time with Lincoln City in early 2019.

He netted twice in claret and amber in 2019/20, impressing as a versatile member of the midfield.

“I always wanted to come back here,” said the player, who will wear the number seven jersey.

“I’m delighted the opportunity has came up and I was able to sign on permanently.

“I feel I kicked on as a player last season working with the manager and all the coaches at Motherwell. This is the right place to be to continue to develop my career.

“It’s an exciting time to be at the club. With the chance to play in Europe and try replicate what we achieved in the league last year, it’s the place to be.”

We have given Stephen Robinson permission to speak to the Irish FA regarding the vacant role of Northern Ireland manager.

On Tuesday, the governing body sought consent to interview Stephen for the job, which we reluctantly granted.

We have expressed in the strongest possible terms that we want him to stay with us.

The work he has done so far to take the club to two national cup finals, bring through young talent and finish third in last season’s Premiership has been exceptional.

As we prepare to embark on a UEFA Europa League campaign, it is our hope that Stephen will stay to continue the work that has proven so successful.

Declan Gallagher is the new captain of Motherwell Football Club.

The Scotland international defender will be accompanied by goalkeeper Trevor Carson, who will assume the role of vice-captain.

A recruit from Livingston in the summer of 2019, Declan takes on the armband from Peter Hartley, with his former defensive partner having left the club in May.

Since his arrival at the club last year, the 29-year-old has proven himself to be an accomplished leader, both on and off the pitch.

He was rewarded for his performances with a first call into the Scotland national team in late 2019, going on to win two caps.

Trevor has been at the club since 2017 and is an influential figure around Fir Park.

Having played in both our cup final appearances in 2017/18 and established himself for the Northern Ireland national team, his progress was significantly hampered by the onset of deep-vein thrombosis in November 2018.

He overcame the threat that illness posed to his career, working his way back to full fitness. He has had to bide his time to play again, given the form of Mark Gillespie last term, but is now in line to reassume the goalkeeping spot.

“Declan is a leader who commands respect,” manager Stephen Robinson said. “He has been superb since he came here.

“Both Declan and Trevor are full internationals. They are influential in the dressing room and are respected and liked by all of our players.

“With both leading the dressing room, I am confident they will continue the positive impact our former captain Peter Hartley had on the players and in setting the standards we demand.

“I considered and spoke to a number of players for the roles but they were younger, and I want them to concentrate on football and purely on continuing to develop their careers, instead of dealing with the other aspects the captaincy brings.”

Scott Fox is our fourth new signing for the 2020/21 season.

The experienced goalkeeper arrives at Motherwell to challenge for the number one position.

Fox has amassed 342 career appearances across the top two divisions in Scotland, having been on the books at Celtic, East Fife, Queen of the South, Dundee, Partick Thistle and Ross County.

“Scott adds really good experience to the goalkeeping department and will compete for a place with Trevor Carson and PJ Morrison,” said manager Stephen Robinson.

“Scott’s attitude has impressed me in the short space of time he’s spent with us so far. He’s a ‘keeper with Premiership experience and will be a strong addition.

“He has also worked with our goalkeeping coach Craig Hinchliffe previously and came with a strong reference from him.

Fox, 32, has signed a one-year deal with the club.

“I’m delighted to have joined Motherwell,” said the goalkeeper.

“I’ve been training with the team for the past week and settled in quickly, and can’t wait to get started proper.

“I’m here to fight for the right to play. Trevor is a tremendous goalkeeper who plays at international level and it’s my job to push him as much as I possibly can.

“It’s an improving side which want to be challenging up the top end of the table and obviously this year there’s European football. It’s a great time to join.”

We wish to clarify remarks made by our former player Richard Tait on the BBC Sportsound programme on 21 June 2020.

Firstly, we are not normally moved to make public statements on matters relating to player contracts. We always, with very limited exceptions, conduct all of our business in private.

However, Richard’s comments to the BBC require us to make completely clear the events, which led to his decision to leave the club at the end of his contract on 31 May 2020.

Earlier this year, the club entered negotiations and made contract offers to Richard, which he rejected. He is perfectly entitled to do this, as we would expect over the course of any negotiation.

Shortly after the league was stopped due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with the majority of our staff working from home, Richard returned a signed contract to the club, accepting an offer made to him which he had previously rejected. This contract was signed only by him, and not by any member of staff at Motherwell FC.

At this point, we informed Richard that we would not be in a position to sign off on the contract, given we were in the midst of complete uncertainty over our financial position going forward in the wake of a global pandemic.

Nevertheless, we reassured him we wanted him to stay at the club, and we would be back in touch once we had certainty over where we stood.

Towards the end of May, Richard was offered revised terms, with the full explanation this was being done in light of a predicted much-reduced football budget.

Richard told the BBC that it was his view “[Motherwell] were taking advantage of a bad situation” in doing this.

As a fan-owned club operating in hugely uncertain financial times, it is imperative that the board exercise the maximum caution to safeguard the club.

At the time Richard was offered revised terms, we were unsure when the 2020/21 season would commence. We are still in the situation where we do not know when a crucial revenue stream – having supporters in the stadium – will be available to us again.

Despite this, we offered Richard a new contract in the hope he would stay with us. The basic salary of this contract was less than the previous offer, but on no lesser basic terms than he had been on at the club during his time here.

It also included the incentive for us to pay for him to undertake coaching qualifications, with a view to him being a member of our coaching staff once his playing career came to a close.

Additionally, we made a promise to Richard that we would look to review his contract at a later date, once there was greater clarity over supporters being able to return to stadiums.

We are disheartened that someone who has been part of the fabric of our club for four years would make an accusation that we would try and take advantage of a grave situation like Covid-19.

It should therefore be noted that Richard chose to reject the new terms offered to him by the club. We did not withdraw the opportunity for him to remain part of Motherwell Football Club. He is fully entitled to follow this path and we respect his right to do so.

Richard remains part of the history of this club. As captain of the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final winning side over Aberdeen, a member of the squad which reached two cup finals, as a man who made 142 appearances for our club and as a hugely respected and well liked figure at Fir Park.

We reiterate our sincere thanks for all he gave to the club and wish him all the best in his future career.

Paycare will once again feature on the back of our first team home and away kits in 2020/21.

A leading not-for-profit organisation which provides cashback on everyday healthcare costs, as well as wider mental, financial and physical support, Paycare will adorn the bottom of our jersey for another year.

“The team at Paycare are delighted to continue our sponsorship of Motherwell Football Club for the 2020/2021 season,” Kevin Rogers, CEO of Paycare, said.

“Whilst this may be a season like no other, we are excited to see the Steelmen start the year with a third-place finish to last season under their belts.

“Paycare is honoured to continue to support the health and wellbeing of the Motherwell fans and the wider community. Best of luck with the new season. ‘Mon the Well.”

Alan Burrows, chief executive of Motherwell FC, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be extending our partnership with Paycare.

“The steadfast support of Kevin and his team during this challenging time is very much appreciated by everyone at the club. We look forward to growing our partnership this season.