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Stuart Kettlewell gives his thoughts on the 2-1 defeat to Rangers at Hampden.

Striker Amy Sharkey has joined the club on a season-long loan deal from defending SWPL champions Celtic.

The 16-year-old joined the Hoops’ academy in February 2022 and instantly made an impression, earning a place on the bench against local rivals Rangers at only 15-years-old in the maiden women’s Scottish Cup final at the national stadium, Hampden park.

The forward soon made her senior Celtic debut, before featuring twice against Hamilton and Dundee United, with Sharkey netting her first top-flight goal in a 9-0 victory over the Tangerines.

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

“I want to experience regular first-team football and the club have a proven track record of developing young players and providing the platform to gain experience and progress both as a player and a person.

“I can’t wait to get started and am looking forward to playing my part in the season ahead.”

The striker, who has been capped internationally for Scotland at both U16 and U17 level, will be the sixth new acquisition for the women of steel this season.

“This is a very positive addition,” head coach Paul Brownlie said.

“Making her Celtic debut at 15 emphasises how exciting a talent Amy is, and we knew she’d be able to positively strengthen our options in the final third. We are looking forward to supporting her progression this season.”

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Summer signing Liam Gordon says he has settled in very quickly after his switch from St Johnstone and is looking forward to the season ahead. 

With so many injuries amongst the squad, Gordon explains why it’s important he does everything to avoid injury and also reminisces about his previous ventures to the national stadium.

They say that patience can be a virtue but for goalkeeper Aston Oxborough, it’s more than that. It’s been a part of his daily professional footballing life. He arrived in North Lanarkshire with very few minutes to his name.

Despite being on the books of Norwich for 14 years, he never actually featured for the first-team.

Training and applying himself every day in a professional manner, the opportunity to showcase his talents never appeared and so, the time came for Oxborough to try something new.

That was in August 2022, when he arrived at Motherwell on the eve of Steven Hammell’s first match in charge as the permanent manager of the club.

“A lot has happened since I arrived,” Oxborough reflected.

“My loan at Barnet from Norwich was the last string of games I got. It was frustrating, it’s a hard club to breakthrough at. I was kept back on training and didn’t get out on loan until I was 21, which is quite late.

“That was frustrating but looking back, I wouldn’t change it as that’s how I’ve shaped myself. Norwich always rated me highly and I was in youth England squads. I was always used in first-team training so when I went on loan to Wealdstone, I was playing catch up a bit in terms of actual games.

“There was so many long balls and direct play with decisions to make. It was great for me. Everyone’s journey is different.

“Nick Pope didn’t play much when he was young but he went right down the leagues and started to play more. Look at him now.”

That lack of minutes became an issue for Oxborough and so he sought a move away from a club he had spent 14 years of his life with. A new environment, league and team was the perfect solution. But as he arrived at Motherwell, there was another keeper standing in his way.

“I wasn’t aware of the keeper situation here until I did some research before I joined,” he explained.

“Liam Kelly had won player of the year awards and had an excellent track record. I knew there might be an opportunity to prove myself further down the line so that’s what I aimed for.

“The first year was harder because when I signed, the manager [Graham Alexander] was gone straight away. So, I had to show what I could do with a new manager and then soon after, he was gone too.

“It’s tough not being able to show what you can do and I knew there would be questions about what I was doing here and what I actually brought to the table.”

What he did bring to the table however was a professional attitude.

As a second choice keeper with limited minutes, the only way you can showcase yourself is on the training pitch, and that’s what he continued to do.

“I had a chat with the manager at the end of that first season,” Oxborough said.

“I said I understood the situation but I needed an opportunity to show what I could do. So, we agreed that I would play two of the cup games.

“It was nice to get back out on the pitch after not playing. You don’t overthink things but you think about how you’ve been waiting for this chance for so long. It puts added pressure on you.”

Those two appearances in July 2023 seen Oxborough save a pivotal penalty against Queen of the South that earned his team a bonus point and also registered a clean sheet in his second outing. But that was all the minutes he seen for the remainder of the season.

However, he remains at the club for his third season as he battles out for that number one jersey with West Ham loanee Krisztián Hegyi.

“The message to me was we think you’re good enough,” the 26-year-old said.

“There was a good understanding of the situation. I’ve been patient for two years and want to give it my all for another year.

At the end of the day, I came up here for a reason. To test myself in the SPFL.”

It’s a similar start to the season for Oxborough as he has featured in two matches during the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup, which has seen him save three penalties in shootouts.

“You don’t practice saving penalties to be honest. I think the frame helps,” he laughed.

“It’s about going the right way using the analysis. Neil Alexander is good with knowing where the player is going to go.

“On the bottle from the match against Thistle, I had a name and where they’re going to go. We have a booklet where it has their last five penalties but the bottle is more precise. I was told to be discreet about it and then I seen there was a photo of me reading it!

“I read the information and that’s where I’ll go unless I see a trigger or his body language tells me something. All the penalties against Thistle said to go right so as the shootout went on, in my mind I was thinking the takers will think he’s gone right so he’ll eventually go the other way, I got two and nearly the third.

“I’ve done better than the games last year and I’ve had a different mindset going into these games. I think last year I put too much pressure on myself, this year I’ve tried to enjoy it.”

Stuart Kettlewell is quizzed about the eight injured players amongst his squad, as the Motherwell boss outlines timescales on recovery. 

He also discusses that despite competitive games against the old firm since he arrived means very little when it comes to Saturday’s challenge at Hampden. Kettlewell says he will need to get creative with the players he has available.

Creative midfielder Georgie Robb has joined the club on a permanent deal after departing Dundee United in the summer.

The 18-year-old, who made 54-top-flight appearances since 2022 will feature in claret and amber ahead of the forthcoming SWPL campaign after an extensive spell in the City of Discovery.

“I’m delighted to join the club,” said Robb.

“The club are building positively towards the future, they drive high standards, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to play here.

“I’m really excited to step into such a competitive environment, with competition for places creating an environment where I can develop myself as a player but also as a person. I can’t wait to get started here.”

The midfielder, who has been capped internationally for Scotland at both U15 and U19 level, will be the fifth new acquisition for the women of steel this season.

“I am delighted to get this signing completed,” head coach Paul Brownlie said.

“Georgie is an exciting young talent and I’m fully aware of the qualities she has. Georgie is versatile in position, she has the qualities to carve out goalscoring opportunities and create space in the final third. She’ll bring great balance to the team and I’m excited to continue her development this season.”

Stuart Kettlewell has provided a detailed update on the fitness level of some of our playing squad. 

Ross Callachan will now be out for a period of time, having picked up an injury in training.

“Ross has a bad one,” manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

“In a light training session on Monday, in the last 20 seconds he pulled up with a hamstring injury. It looks bad enough that it will keep him out for a period of time.

“Lennon Miller was carrying a knock at the weekend but he still thrust himself forward to play. He shrugged it off but he took another whack during the game on Saturday, hence why he came off. He’s not trained this week so he’s a doubt for this weekend.

“Shane Blaney has an impact injury from Saturday. He’s got a tear in his medial ligament which will keep him out for four to six weeks.

“Shane’s one of the robust guys, as soon as I seen him put his hand up I knew there would be something significant there.”

Edinburgh will await the women of steel this weekend, as Motherwell prepare for the first challenge in their 2024/25 SWPL campaign, with spartans the hosts in the Scottish capital.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

Refreshed and rejuvenated following the summer break, the women of steel return to competitive action aiming to replicate their impeccable post-split form of the previous campaign. Paul Brownlie’s side coasted through to the 2023/24 season finale after maintaining an exceptional 11-game unbeaten run.

Following 13-summer departures, Motherwell faced an extensive squad rebuild after striker Laura Berry returned to Rangers alongside fellow loanee Kayla Jardine. Latest additions Jenna Penman, Mason Blyth-Clark, Rachel Todd and Sienna McGoldrick all are set to make their competitive Motherwell debuts after penning deals in ML1.

Motherwell remain unbeaten against Spartans across their last four league meetings, with the women of steel recording three victories throughout that run.

Spartans 

The Edinburgh side have also faced an extensive squad rebuild following the departure of key attacker Caley Gibb, with Hearts loanees Kate Fraser and Olivia Chomczuk trading sides of the Scottish capital on joint season-long loan deals.

Ticket information 

Cash & card payments are also available for this fixture.

• Adult – £8
• Concession – £5
• Under 16s – Free to enter

How to follow the action 

Supporters can follow Sunday’s encounter on Twitter @motherwellwomen, with a full report of the action available post-match. Kick-off from Ainslie Park at 1PM.

Paul McGinn is entering his third season at Motherwell and in those first two years, he has adopted the nickname of the ‘7/10’ from supporters for his consistency in all matches. 

Whilst that two years has been successful for McGinn, this is the first time in his career that he has taken the armband, having been named vice-captain on more than once occasion.

Taking some advice from former captains that he has played under, McGinn wants to remain the way he is and become a bridge for all players in the first-team dressing room and Under 18s.

Keeping the dressing room clean and healthy is on the top of his to do list, and with the help of a ‘power group’ within the squad, that task looks achievable as the squad begin to settle down for the long season that is ahead of them.