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Maurice Ross has left Motherwell Football Club to pursue new opportunities.

The first team coach departs after two years at Fir Park, having originally joined as Head of 18s to 21s, before taking up a role on the senior staff.

“I feel the time is right for me to pursue other challenges in my career, given how my role has changed here in recent months,” Ross said.

“I wish the new management, the team and the club all the best, and thank everyone for the time I’ve spent with Motherwell.”

Ross, who also made seven appearances for the club during his playing career, arrived at Fir Park with coaching experience as a manager in Norway, where he won back-to-back promotions with FK Sola, and in the Faroe Islands.

“First of all, I would like to thank Maurice for his commitment and professionalism since I joined the club,” manager Graham Alexander said of the departure.

“I can understand why he’s made this decision. I have nothing but good wishes for him going forward. I am sure he will continue to have a successful coaching career.”

You can watch St Mirren v Motherwell wherever you are in the world on Wednesday night.

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.50.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Kick-off in Paisley is at 6pm.

Motherwell head to St Mirren for their rearranged Premiership match on Wednesday.

Kick-off in Paisley is at 6pm.

Watch live

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.50.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Tale of the tape

St Mirren are unbeaten in their last five encounters with Motherwell, a run stretching back to December 2019.

A 1-1 draw in the last meeting between the two came in January this year, with Jamie McGrath’s late penalty cancelling out Devante Cole’s first-half strike.

Form guide

Motherwell have won three of their last six matches, taking maximum points from Ross County, Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

However, Graham Alexander’s men have tasted defeat in their last two, suffering home losses to Hamilton Academical and St Johnstone.

St Mirren are unbeaten in three, drawing at Aberdeen and then at home to Hamilton and Livingston.

“It wasn’t good enough. We have to be honest with ourselves and take responsibility for today.”

Graham Alexander speaks after the 3-0 loss to St Johnstone.

A significantly-weakened Motherwell slumped to a second consecutive home defeat as St Johnstone had a comfortable win at Fir Park.

A ‘Well side minus three of its first-choice back four failed to match a Saints team motivated with the prospect of the Betfred Cup final next weekend.

Guy Melamed’s goal after 18 minutes set the tone for an arduous afternoon for the Steelmen. Their cause was not helped when Jason Kerr added a second just before the interval, as ‘Well appealed for a blatant offside in the build-up.

When Melamed claimed his second from the penalty spot four minutes after the interval it was a case of damage limitation for Graham Alexander’s men.

A combination of injuries and suspension forced the ‘Well boss into making four critical changes.

Stephen O’Donnell’s suspension and Bevis Mugabi’s shoulder injury meant a first start for both 17 year-old Max Johnston and on-loan Tyler Magloire. With Allan Campbell and Mark O’Hara missing from the midfield, Robbie Crawford returned and Liam Polworth was recalled after his recent suspension.

From the start, the understrength ‘Well side was pressed deep into its own half by as the Perth men set out eager to impress Callum Davidson ahead of next week’s final.

As Motherwell toiled to relieve the pressure and get the ball up field to the front three, it was little surprise when Saints opened the scoring.

Melamed was allowed to cut in from the right before his controlled strike from 20 yards sailed past Liam Kelly to make it 1-0

The visitors seemed content to control possession and preserve their lead with nothing to threaten Zander Clark’s goal until the 32nd minute. There appeared to be few options when Polworth collected the ball 30 yards out but his blistering drive forced a fine diving save from the Saints’ keeper.

Despite having the bulk of the play in and around the home penalty area, Kelly was not asked to make a save until the final minute of the first half. The ‘keeper did well at full stretch to palm Liam Craig’s powerful drive against the face of the crossbar.

When the ball rebounded to Chris Kane he directed his header towards the back post where Sean Rooney, unmarked and looking well offside, nodded the ball off the crossbar. When the ball eventually fell to Jason Kerr he rattled his shot through a ruck of players and into the net and double Saints’ lead.

The job became a lot more difficult within four minutes of the restart. Polworth caught Kane’s heels and Melamed confidently hammered the resultant penalty low under the diving Kelly to put Saints three goals ahead.

With an hour played, ‘Well made a triple substitution, with Nathan McGinley, Jake Hastie and Jordan Roberts given half an hour to try and alter the pattern of the game.

The changes had some impact as the Fir Park side enjoyed more of the ball, particularly in the Saints half but despite forcing a number of corners little impression was made on the visitors’ goal or their three-goal advantage.

Prior to kick-off, ‘Well were aiming to break loose from the relegation pack below them and still held lingering hopes of claiming a top-six place. However, after two home defeats and a trip to face the other Saints in Paisley in midweek, the Fir Park focus is surely now on maintaining a gap over the bottom three teams.

It’s been an up and down season for Motherwell’s Christopher Long in 2020/21.

Having returned for a second campaign in the summer, injury has hampered his ability to get a consistent run of games.

Now fit, and with the number nine jersey returned to the back of his shirt, he’s opened up on how he’s perceived and what he wants to achieve at the club.

“We have to play the way we train.

“We’ll focus on what we’ve done well in previous games and take that into Saturday.”

Graham Alexander speaks ahead of the Premiership clash at Fir Park.

“We’ve had a good run since the manager came in.

“We’re not happy with last week but it’s out of our minds and we’re focused on St Johnstone.”

Tony Watt looks ahead to Saturday’s visit of St Johnstone.

Motherwell’s Ugandan defender Bevis Mugabi shot to fame in January, when he outjumped Cristiano Ronaldo’s record to score a winner against Ross County.

The popular figure hit a height of 262cm, beating Ronaldo’s 256cm, and also leapt 75cm off the ground compared to the Juventus forward’s 71cm.

Here, he speaks about fame back home, representing his country and his time in Scotland.

“It was a tough day.”

Jake Carroll is honest in his assessment of last Saturday. Many Motherwell fans will empathise, even if their choice of language may have been a bit stronger in the immediate aftermath.

A home defeat is never fun. Neither is a Lanarkshire derby defeat. Yet the combination of the two in last week’s 4-1 loss proved startling to many, particularly with the backdrop of a victory over Kilmarnock offering hope of a springboard and some momentum going into the pre-split final furlong.

While Accies were coming in on the back of a 1-1 draw with Rangers, hopes were high for the Steelmen. Instead, a catastrophic first half, including a sending off for Stephen O’Donnell, just added further pain to those watching on remotely, probably thankful for once that they weren’t there.

“It was a game we were desperate to win, and it was one we just didn’t start well enough,” said the Motherwell left-back.

“With the early goals and getting a man sent off, it just left us with a mountain to climb, and we couldn’t do that, unfortunately.

“I know how much the fans must have been hurting after it, but I want to assure them that we are exactly the same. The dressing room was very quiet, and a lot of the lads were down.

“They beat us recently, so we were even more desperate to beat them. We do know how much it means, and we are already thinking of how we can put it right next time.”

It was a sentiment echoed by boss Graham Alexander.

“We made poor decisions, and that gave the opponent the opportunity to take advantage,” he said. “If we had defended with the same ideas as we have done previously, they wouldn’t have scored that first goal.

“And they know that. It’s back to the training pitch and work as hard as we always do.”

No fans at football stadia is nothing new in football. But with every passing game, the yearn from supporters to get back increases.

Motherwell fans will also be experiencing a new-look Fir Park when they return.

The John Hunter Stand is getting more work done than an ageing Hollywood actor and anticipation of the facelift – which includes new seats, new toilets, new tellies, new payment methods and a new mural – are through the newly-painted roof.

But while fans are missing their football, the impact of no one cheering you on from the stands has not gone unnoticed on the park.

“I did say to one of the boys you are seeing a lot of strange results in football at the moment,” added Carroll.

“You don’t know if that’s down to the impact of not having fans. Even if you think back to the game at their place, we normally take an unbelievable support with us but last time out that wasn’t there.

“It might be having an impact. But we need to try and ignore that and just focus on getting over the line ourselves.”

Victory over Hamilton last time out could have propelled Well into eighth and within a win of the top six, still with a game in hand.

Instead, a win over St Johnstone this weekend will be needed to prevent the Perth club – currently a place and two points above – carving open a broad gap and increasing the complexities of attaining a top-six spot.

“At the moment where we are, we need to stay focused on each game at a time. We can’t be distracted by where a win may take us,” insists Carroll.

“We don’t want to be looking over our shoulders and down the table. It’s about looking up to the top six. But we’re not there yet. It’s all about taking it one game at a time and trying to see where that leads to.

“On Saturday, there is the opportunity to do that.

“The focus is game by game. It has to be. Sometimes you get carried away after a couple of wins and think about the top six. It can also work the other way where after two losses, you start to look behind you.

“You have to come away from that, don’t get too worried. We are in a position where we have to take each three points seriously, and we will do that.”

The 29-year-old Irishman missed the first half of the season through injury, but he is keen to make up for lost time.

An Achilles problem kept him out for ten months, with a return to action coinciding with Stephen Robinson’s last game in charge back in December.

“It was very tough watching from the sides. I missed some good moments this season, the European games in particular,” he said.

“I’ve been desperate to get back in for a while, and now I’ve managed it, it’s been pleasing that I’ve had a good run of games to go with it. It’s about setting goals and targets.

“There’s definitely more to come. I think I can add a little bit more going forward and I’d expect more in terms of assists. There’s more to come, and I’m hoping the fans will see that between now and the end of the season.”