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Paul Brownlie has finalised his backroom staff for the SWPL1 season.

The head coach has brought in Leanne Crichton as his number two, Forfar midfielder Craig Slater as first team coach and Conor O’Boyle as a goalkeeping coach.

“I am delighted to finalise my staff group with Leanne, Craig and Conor,” Brownlie said. “I believe I have real quality coaches and people.

“One thing that’s been clear from day one is we are pulling in the same direction. We all have similar thoughts on the game and the direction we want to take Motherwell this season and beyond.”

Leanne Crichton

Coming in as a player/assistant manager, Leanne Crichton is one of the most recognised names within Scottish women’s football.

Having amassed more than 70 caps for her country, multiple league titles with Glasgow City and played in the Champions League, Crichton brings a wealth of experience to the Motherwell dressing room.

“Leanne was someone I was desperate to get in as assistant manager,” Brownlie added. “She is a vastly experienced player both domestically and internationally, and she knows the standards required.

“Leanne has been a serial winner throughout her career. She understands the demands of the modern game, and how professional athletes should act both on and off the pitch.”

Craig Slater

Former Partick Thistle, Colchester and Kilmarnock player Craig Slater comes in as a first team coach.

“Craig is someone I’ve known for several years and brings vast experience having played at all levels of the game, here in Scotland, England, and international level with the under 21s national team squad,” Brownlie said.

“He’s a fabulous addition to our coaching staff and I believe the players will benefit from his knowledge and guidance.”

Featuring for Scotland under 21s and still playing for League One outfit Forfar Athletic still today, Slater has played over 150 games domestically.

The midfielder came through the ranks at Kilmarnock before earning a move down south to Colchester United. He then had a brief loan spell with Dundee United, before permanently coming back to Scotland with Partick Thistle.

In 2020 he joined Queen’s Park and then moved onto his current club Forfar in May of this year.

Conor O’Boyle

Coming in as the new goalkeeping coach, former Queen’s Park keeper Conor O’Boyle will be looking after the goalkeepers this season to complete the backroom staff.

Coming through the youth setup at Hibernian, O’Boyle has turned out for Stenhousemuir, Queen’s Park and St Roch’s, before hanging up his gloves in 2017.

“I’ve worked closely with Conor before and I know how knowledgeable he is on the pitch, and the level of experience he’ll bring to our staff group,” Brownlie said.

“It is clear to see the rapport he’s building with the goalkeepers during our pre-season preparation, he is a fantastic addition to a strong staff group.”

A new thriller, set in Lanarkshire with scenes at Fir Park, has been written by Motherwell FC chairman Jim McMahon.

Parallax, published by Austin Macauley, is told through the eyes of two main characters and is a gripping tale of painful truths and deadly consequences.

You can buy a copy of Parallax from the publisher here and receive a discount using the promo code AUTHOR0721.

Fatal accidents are rarely caused by a single mistake but are often the result of a series of errors.

A chain of poor decisions leaves Ian White – golf professional and happily married father of two teenage daughters – with a hellish choice. Should he report the death of Katerina Wysklow, a hitchhiker whom he accidentally kills?

If his shame becomes public, it will destroy his family. If he conceals the truth, he must find a way to deal with the horror and his guilt.

The mounting evidence points to her boyfriend’s father – a close friend of White’s – and Katerina’s last known contact on the day she vanished. Will the wrong man be charged? Will White be exposed? Will his conscience intervene? Or will the reckoning come from another direction entirely?

“The bits of the book that are set in Carluke and in Motherwell are redolent of my growing up,” explains Jim.

“It’s easy to write about Motherwell and like everyone my formative years, my family, my locale influenced who I am today. Lanarkshire shaped me, my family – my dad in particular – and Hamilton Academy.

“The detective in Parallax is a Motherwell supporter. There is a lot of stuff about taking his wee boy to his first game and I have memories of my dad taking me to my first game at around the same age.

“The first game I ever went to was Motherwell v Airdrie. This was in the 50s. As you know, memories are imperfect, you don’t have memories, you recreate them every time you think of something.

“But in those days, we had a tiny seven-inch telly, black and white, one channel. Everything seemed monochrome, we were still rationing at the time and then suddenly I was at a football ground with 20,000 people and Motherwell in brilliant claret and amber. There was the noise, Airdrie with their V-diamonds on their strips, for me it felt like I was in the Colosseum. It was brilliant, so exciting, full of life and so different. And it was my time with my dad.

“My father worked in the post office, he got back from work at lunchtime on a Saturday and changed into his suit. We would walk out to Carluke Cross and got on the Law and Carluke Motherwell Supporters’ Club bus, which was mainly full of miners – I think my dad and I were the only two folk on the bus who didn’t smoke.

“We then went down to the game and that was my Saturday, that was my time with my dad. I look back on it so fondly and that’s why I did the same with my kids. The detective has the same feelings about his own son, who has his Motherwell top and thinks that Louis Moult is the best player in the world. There is a chunk of that in there.

“I don’t think the main character is a bad guy. I think he’s a good guy, a family guy, one who makes a mistake that soon becomes a catastrophic one. He then has to deal with the outcome and part of the way he does this is by writing a diary to try and piece it all together.

“The story runs in two parts, told through his eyes and the eyes of the investigating detective. The two stories run out of time set until they meet at the end, which is when it becomes a Parallax. It’s two different approaches to the same incident which eventually meet and cross over.”

The 2021/22 season starts with a trip to face Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup.

The group stage match at Firhill on Wednesday 14 July kicks off at 7.45pm.

Watch live

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, you can watch the game live on Premier Sports.

Overseas-based fans can watch via their normal subscriptions at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Unfortunately, tickets are not available for Motherwell supporters to attend the game in person.

Tale of the tape

The two sides last met in the opening game of the 2017/18 edition of this competition, with the Steelmen running out 5-1 winners at Hampden.

Goals from Chris Cadden, Craig Tanner, Louis Moult and a Ryan Bowman double secured the opening victory, with Motherwell later returning to the national stadium for the final.

The other match within the last decade between the two teams came at Fir Park in the 2011/12 Scottish Cup.

Jamie Murphy scored twice, with Omar Daley and Henrik Ojamaa adding in a 4-0 victory.

Form guide

‘Well have faced two tests prior to the start of the season.

An opening match at Dumbarton saw 24 players see action in a 1-0 defeat, before a 2-0 loss against Millwall on Saturday.

Newly promoted to League One, Queen’s drew 2-2 with Raith in a friendly before opening their Premier Sports Cup group stage campaign with an 1-0 win at Queen of the South at the weekend.

How to watch on Premier Sports

Coverage begins at 7.15pm on Premier Sports 1 with Darrell Currie, Stephen Craigan, Shelley Kerr and Rory Hamilton bringing fans all of the coverage.

You can watch via Sky channel 412, Virgin channel 551 and online via the Premier Player.

New customers can subscribe from just £12.99 per month (one-month minimum term) with no connection fee.

Premier Sports customers on Sky will also receive free access to the Premier Player by registering here

To watch online (Web, iOS App, Android App): head to the Premier Player and subscribe from just £12.99 per month (one-month minimum term) with no connection fee.

If using the app, please set up an account first on you web browser before downloading.

Virgin customers can watch Premier Sports channel 551. You can subscribe for £12.99 per month via the provider with no connection fee or minimum contract. Call 0845 840 7777 or set up viewing via box. (Press Home > Apps and Games > All Apps > TV Upgrades.)

Premier Sports offer paid subscription services. Payments for subscriptions to Premier Sports via Sky or the Premier Player streaming service will automatically recur monthly or annually dependent on your chosen package unless notice is given to cancel. The auto-recurring price will be at the standard rate.

Cancellations must be made by phone or email and must include a minimum five days’ notice prior to the next bill. No cancellations accepted within 48 hours of subscribing. The minimum subscriptions period is dependant (and matches) on your chosen package. Terms and conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.premiersports.com.

Motherwell lost out in a tough test against English Championship side Millwall in their final pre-season test on Saturday.

After Liam Kelly performed heroics from a shot hit at him from three yards away, he could do nothing to stop Millwall opening the scoring after six minutes.

Malone’s surge down the left saw him get in behind and flash the ball across the face of goal, with Thompson arriving at the back post to steer into the net.

Motherwell grew into the match after a difficult opening spell, with Tony Watt in particular impressing higher up the pitch, and Liam Donnelly looking back to his assured best as he continues his comeback.

Barry Maguire’s long-distance effort stung the palms of the Millwall keeper as the half wore on and Watt flashed an effort across the face of goal, but the first 45 ended with the hosts having controlled the ball for the most part.

Max Johnston and a trialist were introduced at the break for O’Donnell and Donnelly and the first chance of the second half would fall immediately at Motherwell’s feet.

With the ball bouncing around in the box, Maguire got to it and tried to stab home into the net from close range, only for his goalbound shot to be blocked on the line.

Millwall had changed the entire team around at the break and the imposing, six foot six inch tall striker Smith would double their advantage close to the hour mark.

A deep cross from the left saw him rise between two ‘Well defenders, nodding down into the bottom-right corner of the net.

With chances at a premium, a trialist saw a close-range header from a right-sided corner go past the post for ‘Well, and Lawless saw a low shot easily gathered by Long.

The hosts enjoyed the bulk of the possession, with Graham Alexander giving more valuable minutes to players as the game wore on.

Motherwell: Kelly, S O’Donnell (Johnston 46), Trialist (Lamie 60), Trialist, Carroll, Donnelly (Trialist 46), Maguire, Cornelius (Crawford 69), Woolery (Amaluzor 69), Watt, Van Veen (Lawless 60).

Subs not used: Fox, Morrison, McLeod, C O’Donnell, Trialist, Trialist, Wilson.

Motherwell have completed their fifth signing this summer, securing Olivia Potter from Celtic on a season-long loan deal.

The 16-year-old midfielder will join up with Paul Brownlie and his squad for the 2021/22 SWPL1 season.

“With Olivia, we are adding a dynamic midfield player,” the head coach said.

“She will bring quality to the squad even though she is still young for the game.”

We’ve entered a new, exciting partnership with G4Claims.

The G4Claims brand will feature on the bottom of the back of our first team home and away kits for the 2021/22 season.

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“Motherwell Football Club are a local team who we wish every success and are proud to support in the new season,” Nicole Rudder, G4Claims Director, said.

“We’d like to invite supporters of Motherwell Football Club to follow us on our social media platforms for giveaways and competitions.

“We trust that this partnership will prove beneficial for both parties and will be the beginning of a long, successful association.”

Suzanne Reid, head of commercial and marketing at Motherwell FC, added: “We are delighted to welcome G4Claims to our partnership portfolio.

“We share many values with the company, being a family business in the local community. We very much look forward to working with Nicole and her team to grow the partnership.”

Our Premier Sports Cup derby with Airdrieonians will now be played on Wednesday, 21 July.

The game has been moved from its original date of Tuesday, 20 July. Kick-off will remain at 7.45pm.

The Lanarkshire derby will be broadcast live on Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland.

As it stands, no Motherwell fans will be able to gain entry to the match at the Penny Cars Stadium. We will update you if that changes.

Ricki Lamie picked up a second job at the club this week.

The imposing defender stepped up to the role as the model of our new away kit, taking to the job with ease.

“I never thought I’d say I’d be doing a photoshoot for a new kit,” joked the 28-year-old. “But it’s a good laugh.”

“The kit is lovely, really nice. I think it will be the kitman’s dream because it’s black and easier to wash. It’s got great detail and it’s good quality.”

Despite only joining from Livingston last summer, Lamie finds himself as one of the more familiar faces at the club going into the new campaign.

With a high turnover in the squad in manager Graham Alexander’s first summer in charge, there’s a fresh feel around Fir Park.

“Obviously we had a lot of players who left the building,” added the player. “But we’ve had a good few now come in the way.

“There have been some great additions, particularly in the last week or two, so we’re really pleased and there’s some good characters.

“Hopefully we can add a couple more. But we are looking really healthy now.”

With a final friendly against Milwall lying ahead on Saturday, the competitive action starts next Wednesday in the Premier Sports Cup away to Queen’s Park.

“We’ve only got a couple of weeks in preparation for the cup games,” Lamie added. “It’s a competitive way to break you in.

“It’s even better now we’ve seen the Euros with people in the stadium. So we will be happy to welcome everyone back.”

Jordan McLintock and Georgie Rafferty are staying at Motherwell.

The pair have committed to remain at the club for the forthcoming SWPL1 campaign.

Jordan McLintock

Staying on for her second season in claret and amber, striker McLintock has decided to stay with Motherwell despite interest from other clubs.

The creative player put together a string of starts towards the end of last season and will be looking to continue how she left off.

“I’m delighted to have extended my stay at Motherwell for this season,” Jordan said.

“Having spoken to Paul Brownlie, I’m really looking forward to working with him. It’s an exciting time to be at the club and I’m glad to be part of it.”

Georgie Rafferty

Having missed the last 21 months due to a serious knee injury, 23-year-old defender Georgie Rafferty has almost completed her long road to recovery and is aiming for a return this season.

The former Glasgow City defender brings a wealth of experience and assurance into the defence.

“I’m delighted to be staying at Motherwell, especially with Paul and his backroom staff coming in,” Georgie said.

“I’ve worked under him previously and I can’t speak highly enough of him and his qualities as a manager.

“It’s been a tough couple of years for myself mentally and physically with a long-term injury. But I’m looking forward to getting back involved with the squad and getting back on the pitch.”

Trevor Carson has left Motherwell to join Dundee United.

The goalkeeper departs after four years at Fir Park, having arrived from Hartlepool United in the summer of 2017.

Carson was a pivotal figure in the team which reached the 2017/18 League and Scottish Cup finals, with his influence at the club latterly extending to the vice-captain position.

His 18 clean sheets in the 2017/18 campaign contributed to a club-record 20 and established him as one of the top ‘keepers in the Scottish top flight.

International recognition followed, ending his maiden season at the club with his first caps for Northern Ireland in friendlies with Panama and Costa Rica.

Carson’s grip on the number one jersey continued into the following season, before the onset of deep vein thrombosis halted his progress.

A return at the end of the campaign would see him have to bide his time with Mark Gillespie in form, but he returned to action for the 2020/21 season as the club ventured into European competition.

His heroics in the UEFA Europa League qualifying match with Coleraine, which saw him save all three penalties in the shootout, was another memorable moment in his Motherwell career as the team progressed to the third round to face Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

Injury would, unfortunately, end his season in December 2020, with his 78th and final appearance for the club coming at Fir Park against Kilmarnock. Amassing 26 clean sheets in total, he achieved a shutout in a third of the matches he played.

We wish Trevor all the best for the future, and thank him for all he did for our club.