Graham Alexander is the new manager of Motherwell Football Club.
Graham becomes the 25th man to lead the club, succeeding Stephen Robinson.
A former Scotland international and captain of both Preston North End and Burnley, the 49-year-old arrives with 363 games of managerial experience at Fleetwood Town, Scunthorpe United and Salford City.
He will be joined by his long-term assistant Chris Lucketti, himself a former captain of Huddersfield Town who made over 600 career appearances, who will work alongside current assistant Keith Lasley.
“I am delighted to have been handed this role at a great club,” said the new Motherwell manager.
“People will get to understand the hard work I put in, along with my staff and players. I have always brought that to every club, as a player and a manager.
“It’s something different. It is something I am really excited about. I have been a manager now for seven to eight years, and had success with the three clubs I’ve been at. But this is out of my comfort zone. I’m someone who is up for a challenge, and I will get that here.
“I spoke to Stephen Robinson, as we played together at Preston. He said nothing but good things. That together with what I heard from the board meant it was a challenge I wanted to take on.
“The obvious first objective is to win on Saturday. This is a team which is underperforming but there is talent there. We are in a month where we can also make additions, but there is no way I see this current group should be where they are.
“I believe in producing young talent and I’ve always given chances. The board have made clear what they see as success for Motherwell, and I want to exceed those expectations.
“I’ve seen if you work hard enough, you can achieve whatever you want. But the work has to go in. And that not only comes from me, it comes from the whole group. My role is a manager is to get that working straight away.”
Graham started his playing career with Scunthorpe United, moving onto Luton Town, Preston North End and Burnley, before ending with a final season with Preston.
The 863 league appearances he made across a 24-year career ranks him fourth in the all-time list of games played by footballers in England.
Although born in England, his long-held international commitment was to Scotland through his father. His call would come in 2002 in a friendly against Nigeria at the age of 30, kicking off a Scotland career which would bring 40 caps.
Having had a brief spell as caretaker at Preston North End in 2011/12, his first permanent managerial appointment would come at Fleetwood Town in December 2012. A near-three year spell saw him lead the club up from League Two through the play-offs.
A return to his first club Scunthorpe United would follow in March 2016, spending two years at Glanford Park and leading them to the League One play-off final, where they would lose to Millwall.
The call from ambitious National League side Salford City came in May 2018, winning promotion to the Football League through the play-offs. The curtailment of the 2019/20 campaign due to the Covid-19 outbreak would end back-to-back promotion hopes, and also halt an appearance in the final of the EFL Trophy.
“We are delighted to have chosen Graham to be our next manager,” Motherwell chairman Jim McMahon said of the appointment.
“The calibre of candidates for the role was high, as were the qualities shown by those we interviewed.
“Graham has demonstated to us he is the man to take us forward. He fits the profile of what we expect a Motherwell manager to be.
“He is dynamic. He is hungry. He will lead from the front and shares in our belief of developing talent. He also has a track record of success, leading clubs to promotions and cup finals.”
