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Connor Shields is our first summer signing ahead of the 2021/22 season.

The in-demand striker joins on a three-year deal, making the step up from Championship side Queen of the South. He will officially move when the transfer window opens in early June.

Shields, 23, netted 11 goals in 26 appearances during a breakout season with the Doonhamers.

“We’re very happy to bring Connor in to start our rebuilding for next season,” manager Graham Alexander said of his new capture.

“He’s had a great year scoring goals in the Championship and we believe he has the potential to do the same in the top flight.

“He’s quick, works incredibly hard and is hungry to prove himself at a higher level.

“He now has that opportunity and we’re really looking forward to working with him.”

Shields started his career with Albion Rovers, breaking into the first team as an 18-year-old before earning a move to Sunderland.

A loan spell with Alloa in 2018/19 came before a switch to the National League with Aldershot Town, before returning to Scotland with Queens last summer.

Spartans came back from two goals down to overcome Motherwell in the SWPL1.

Jade Gallon and Kaela McDonald-Nguah put Motherwell two goals up at the break. But Spartans came back through a Marshall double and a McAlonie goal to leave with all three points.

Up until 35 minutes, it was a half of very few chances. Motherwell’s best opportunity for an opener came from captain Inglis, who volleyed over the bar after Spartans failed to clear a cross.

The breakthrough would occur a minute later. Hay fed the ball through and Gallon, making a late run from midfield, got on the end of the pass and cooly rounded the keeper to tap into an empty net to give the ‘Well the lead.

Motherwell could have sat back until half-time defending their lead but instead they pushed to increase it.

And they did just that. Pressure on Yates in the Spartans goal forced her into a slack pass that fell to Gardner. She controlled and fed McLintock, who ran at the defence before laying it off for McDonald-Nguah who blasted it into the bottom-left corner.

Spartans came out firing in the second half and on the 52nd minute, Watson was judged to have handled the ball in the area and Spartans had a penalty.

Spartans captain Marshall stepped up and although her initial effort was saved by Pollard, she scored from the rebound.

Seven minutes later, Spartans were level. Marshall got her second of the night as she fired into the top corner to make it all square.

Watson’s brilliant free-kick was stopped from going into the top corner to prevent Motherwell from regaining the lead with the game on a knife edge.

Although Motherwell kept in the game, Spartans stole all three points with just over 10 minutes to go.

A slack pass out from the home defence saw McAlonie through one v one and she finished past Pollard.

Motherwell will rightfully feel hard done by not get anything out of the game but will go into Sunday’s game against Rangers feeling optimistic.

The 2020/21 season drew to a close in May, with a last-day loss to Ross County sealing an eighth-place finish in the Scottish Premiership.

The final-day fixture also meant for a raft of farewells from Fir Park. Those included popular goalkeeper Liam Kelly and club captain Declan Gallagher, but also young talent Allan Campbell.

Having risen through the youth ranks at Motherwell, the 22-year-old departs with 160 games under his belt, and heads off looking to take his career to the next level.

With at least 23 members of the playing squad moving on in the summer, there’s work to do for manager Graham Alexander.

Reflecting on the season and looking ahead to the next campaign, he discussed his plans for 2021/22 and the return of supporters to Fir Park.

Of course, the season isn’t over yet for our two players heading to EURO 2020.

Declan Gallagher and Stephen O’Donnell will meet up with Scotland in late May, ending the nation’s 23-year wait to take part at a major tournament.

But the thrill of representing his country also comes with some personal cost for O’Donnell, who will leave behind his wife, newborn daughter and young son for a minimum of four weeks.

Motherwell host Spartans in SWPL1 on Wednesday evening.

Kick off at the Penny Cars Stadium is at 7.30pm.

The game is closed to supporters but is available to watch live online for £5.

Tale of the tape

Spartans have won both encounters between the two sides this season.

A 3-1 win at Ainslie Park last month came after a 2-0 victory back in November.

Form guide

A 1-0 away win at Hearts on Sunday lifted Motherwell up to sixth in the table, leapfrogging Forfar Farmington and increasing the distance between the bottom-of-the-table Jambos.

The victory made it two wins from four for Stewart Hall’s side, having also won 1-0 at Forfar.

With the 2020/21 season at an end, we can provide supporters with the following update on players’ contracts.

Leaving the club after 12 years on the books in the academy and then the first team, Allan Campbell will depart at the end of his contract this summer.

The tenacious young midfielder leaves having made 160 appearances before the age of 23, and also becoming one of the most-capped players at Under 21 level for Scotland.

Also departing at the end of their contracts are club captain Declan Gallagher, alongside fellow first-team squad members Aaron Chapman, Sam Foley, Christopher Long, Ross MacIver, Liam Polworth, Harry Robinson, Sherwin Seedorf and Jamie Semple.

Six loan players will officially depart shortly. Jake Hastie, Liam Kelly, Tyler Magloire, Eddie Nolan, Jordan Roberts and Harry Smith will all return to their parent clubs.

Youngsters Findlay Cook, Paul Hale, Yusuf Hussain, Matthew McDonald, Sam Muir, Lewis Robertson and Cammy Williamson will also leave.

We have offered new deals to and/or invited back for pre-season Devante Cole, Dean Cornelius, Charles Dunne and Scott Fox. We will provide updates as soon as possible on their decisions.

“I would like to place on record my thanks to everyone who will leave the club this summer for their contributions and efforts,” Motherwell boss Graham Alexander said. “We wish each of them success in their future endeavours.

“We not only remain in positive discussions with some of our players but also with a number of clubs in relation to one or two players we had on loan, with a view to doing something. But these things take some time.

“The process of rebuilding the squad is well underway.”

The following players will leave at the expiry of their contract:

• Allan Campbell
• Aaron Chapman
• Findlay Cook
• Sam Foley
• Declan Gallagher
• Paul Hale
• Yusuf Hussain
• Christopher Long
• Ross MacIver
• Matthew McDonald
• Sam Muir
• Liam Polworth
• Lewis Robertson
• Harry Robinson
• Sherwin Seedorf
• Jamie Semple
• Cammy Williamson

The following players’ loan periods will end early next month:

• Jake Hastie (Rangers)
• Liam Kelly (Queens Park Rangers)
• Tyler Magloire (Blackburn Rovers)
• Eddie Nolan (Crewe Alexandra)
• Jordan Roberts (Heart of Midlothian)
• Harry Smith (Northampton Town)

The following players have been offered extended deals or invited to return for pre-season training:

• Devante Cole
• Dean Cornelius
• Charles Dunne
• Scott Fox

Motherwell edged out a closely-fought encounter against Hearts 1-0 in SWPL1 on Sunday.

Jade Gallon’s penalty was enough to secure all three points in the capital, lifting Motherwell into sixth place in the table.

In the first 25 minutes, both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game. Motherwell had a penalty claim turned down early on, after Pullar had a collision with the goalkeeper.

However, on 37 minutes, Motherwell would be awarded a spot kick.

Gallon was brought down in the penalty area and the referee pointed straight to the spot.

After winning the penalty, Gallon took on the kicking duties and fired her team ahead after slotting home in the bottom-left corner.

Hearts’ best chance of the first half came after a ball was played down the line to put Jenny Smith through one on one with the keeper but she fired wide.

The hosts continued to put pressure on Motherwell in the second half with a range of chances for the Jambos. They would go on to hit the bar from a cutback and had numerous efforts off target.

Despite intense pressure, Motherwell dug deep to hold onto their slender lead and come out with all the points and a clean sheet.

The result sees ‘Well move up into sixth place in the table and go into their next game against Spartans with a huge boost of confidence.

The draw for the group stage of the 2021/22 Premier Sports Cup will be held on Friday 28 May.

Motherwell will be in the hat ahead of four matches in July, prior to the commencement of the league season.

The draw will take place at 1pm and will be published in full here afterwards.

It’s Hearts next for Motherwell in SWPL.

Kick-off at the Oriam on Sunday is at 1pm.

The game is closed to supporters and unfortunately is not available to watch online. BBC Scotland will show highlights on TV on Sunday night.

Tale of the tape

Motherwell have come out on top in both league encounters so far this season.

A 3-0 away win earlier in the campaign was followed up by a 2-1 home win last month.

Form guide

Motherwell’s battling show against league leaders Glasgow City again pointed to things going in the right direction as the league races to its conclusion.

Prior to the 4-2 defeat on Wednesday, Stewart Hall’s side narrowly lost out 1-0 to Hibernian, having defeated Forfar Farmington previously.

Hearts’ 2-1 win over Forfar on Wednesday brought them back to within two points of Motherwell at the foot of the table.

Since their 1-0 win over Hibernian in December, the Jambos had lost nine and drawn one before their midweek victory.

Martin Foyle has left his role as Motherwell FC’s head of recruitment.

The Englishman has departed for Northampton Town, ending his six-year stint at Fir Park.

During his tenure, Martin was involved in the successful recruitment of a string of players who not only contributed greatly in claret and amber, but also helped generate transfer fees for the club.

“We thank Martin for his six years at Motherwell,” chief executive Alan Burrows said.

“His hard work and endeavours during that spell helped us recruit quality players, which played their part in fantastic success on and off the park.

“Martin and the club had decided to mutually part ways several months ago. Therefore, we have already appointed a replacement, who has been working with manager Graham Alexander on summer business. His appointment will be announced shortly.”

We wish Martin all the best for the future.

Paul Brownlie will be the new head coach of Motherwell’s women’s team.

The 38-year-old, who will also undertake the role of head of women and girl’s performance, will join ‘Well from the Scottish FA at the end of the current women’s season.

“I’m delighted to be given this opportunity,” said Brownlie, who will officially take over in early June. “The challenge is going to be exciting.

“First and foremost, it’s about getting Motherwell FC in the best position possible through my experience of the game, looking at how we can go and compete at the right end of the league.

“In terms of the academy, we want to get it out the best level possible, and that remit falls with me.

“We want Motherwell to be the place girls want to come to develop in Scotland. We need only to look at the success the boys have had and ask if we can mirror that success by putting in the work to make it one of the best academies in Scotland.”

Brownlie has extensive experience in the women’s game, having been a senior member of Celtic’s women’s academy for seven years.

The Scottish FA then headhunted him to be their high performance football manager, which involved the planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating all aspects of the National Performance Centre’s performance programme, based at Heriot-Watt University, in conjunction with the Scottish FA’s national coach for girl’s & women’s football.

In addition to that, Paul was also involved in the youth and senior women’s international teams, including the Under 15s, 16s, 17s and the A squad. He also coached in the Motherwell elite men’s academy at Braidhurst between 2018 and 2020.

“We ran what I believe to be a very extensive and robust recruitment process through Sport Careers Agency, which has concluded with Paul’s appointment,” Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows said.

“I am extremely thankful to everyone who applied and took part in that, which was both enlightening and exciting.

“In Paul, I believe I have someone who can not only lead our senior team in SWPL1 but also help us shape what we hope will be one of the best girls academies in the country.

“My aim has always been to have someone to really drive this side of the club forward. To give ownership to someone to really grow what we believe is an area of huge potential.

“We believe Paul not only has the ability and experience necessary to do that but the determination for it too. I am really looking forward to working with him.”