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Callum Slattery and Stephen O’Donnell will remain in the claret and amber for the 2025/26 season.

“This is great news for everyone,” Michael Wimmer stated.

“Both players are true professionals, and I have loved working with both of them. They have both had different journeys but give everything for the badge. We are trying to get the foundations in place for next season, which is great because after four weeks of being here, I have a better picture of everything.

“Callum has been excellent since I arrived and is a real spark in the team. He suits the style we want to implement here and has shown a great attitude.

“He has done so well to get back to full fitness, and I still think he has room to develop. Hopefully we can achieve that together.

“Stephen is a great character. He trains excellently and is a role model for younger players. He sets an example by his work ethic, and it’s great to know he’ll be here next season. His application and determination for success are what we want and need.

“He is a leader, and it’s great news that he will be here next season.”

The club have exercised their option to extend Slattery’s contract by 12 months, after the 26-year-old recovered from a serious knee injury at the turn of the year.

Slattery joined the club back in the summer of 2021 and has gone on to make 102 appearances for the club so far. Although missing for over a year due to an ACL rupture, he has worked his way back to full fitness and has re-discovered his pre-injury form.

Scoring in just his second match since returning, Slattery has featured eight times this season and most recently scored a double against St Mirren. In that time, he also reached 100 games for the club, a key milestone in his career.

“When I signed my contract last summer, I didn’t know what would lie ahead for me,” Callum Slattery said.

“The club showed faith and trust in me, and my mission has been to get back fully fit so I can thank them for that. It’s been so good to be back on the pitch, scoring goals and creating new memories.

“None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the support I have received from my loved ones, the club staff and all the fans.

“This place has been my home for the last four years, and I’ve gotten really used to being here. I hope we can finish this season strongly and have a successful campaign next season.”

A special video was made which shows Slattery’s journey from the bottom back to the top and can be viewed here.

Stephen O’Donnell will be here for his sixth season at Fir Park, having triggered a 12-month extension in his contract.

Since joining in 2020, the Scotland international has represented the club on 175 occasions. He signed a new deal last summer, which would see him remain for at least one year. Since then, he has triggered a 12-month extension and will be here for his sixth season.

“I’m proud to be a Motherwell player,” Stephen O’Donnell added.

“This is my local area, and I’ve always given 100% to the cause. The community feeling is prevalent, and it’s an exciting time to be here.

“I’ll never take for granted playing for this wonderful football club. There’s a real togetherness here at the minute, and I think there’s optimism for what’s to come under the new management team. This season has had it’s difficulties with injury but I’ve still managed to play plenty games.

“As ever, I’ll give it everything. Not just in matches, but during the week. I want the very best for everyone here and will do my utmost best to deliver that.”

Northern Ireland have called Kofi Balmer for their two friendly matches later this month. 

After a late call-up in October, Balmer has received another place in Michael O’Neill’s squad, although the defender is still looking for his first senior cap.

They are in action twice, taking on Switzerland at home first on Friday 21 March. They then travel to play Sweden on Tuesday 25 March.

• Northern Ireland v Switzerland 
• 7:45pm Kick Off 
• Friday 21 March 
• Windsor Park, Belfast

• Sweden v Northern Ireland 
• 6pm Kick Off
• Tuesday 25 March 
• Friends Arena, Stockholm

Motherwell played St Mirren in their only home match of March, with both sides looking to help their chances of finishing in the top six.

It was St Mirren who got off to the better start, with Boyd-Munce and Phillips finding the back of the net to put the three points firmly within the grasps of the visitors.

But Motherwell showed character and willpower straight from kick-off, with Slattery scoring before the interval to make it 2-1.

The number eight was at the heart of everything and once again scored in the second period to complete the comeback.

St Mirren would get a man sent off in the latter stages, but in the end, it would be a point in the right direction for Michael Wimmer’s side.

The women of steel battled relentlessly till the end in their maiden top-six encounter, but ultimately couldn’t repel the rampant Rangers frontline, as the visitors secured a comfortable 0-8 victory at K-Park on Sunday. 

A Katie Wilkinson hat-trick, braces from Camille Lafaix and Kirsty Howat, with a single-goal from Rio hardy secured a harsh victory for Rangers.

Head Coach Paul Brownlie named three changes from the side that defeated Boroughmuir Thistle to confirm their place in the Semi-Final of the Scottish Cup last weekend. Goalkeeper Rebecca Cameron replaced Emily Mutch between the sticks, as Shannon Leishman and Lucy Barclay both earned their place in the starting XI. Captaining Gill Inglis and Sarah gibb remained available from the bench. Recent acquisition Brodie Greenwood also featured in her first matchday squad since signing on loan from Hearts, with the midfielder amongst the substitutes.

Rangers swiftly got off the mark, as Wilkinson’s drilled delivery across the face of goal ricocheted through the path of Cameron before nesting comfortably inti the back of the net. Motherwell were somehow denied a penalty-kick moments later, as Louisa Boyes defeated Jenna Fife in their race to the ball, with Fife clattering aimlessly through the midfielder deep within the Rangers penalty area, but the referee incredibly waived play-on; much to the understandable frustration of the Motherwell technical area.

Lizzie Arnot teed up LaFaix moments later, with the American midfielder smashing home an unstoppable strike. The 23-year-old completed her brace minutes later, converting Kathy Hill’s delivery. Howat soon lashed home a fourth moments before the break, leaving Motherwell with much to reflect on at half-time.

Wilkinson continued Rangers’ persistent goalscoring form five minutes after the restart, with Howat making it six shortly after. Wilksinon claimed her hat-trick and Rangers’ seventh in the final stages of the game, as Hardy made it eight in the final few minutes from the penalty spot.

Motherwell will return to action in a fortnight’s time when they face Hibernian at K-Park at the end of March.

Michael Wimmer gives his thoughts on the 2-2 draw with St Mirren.

Callum Slattery scored a double as the Steelmen came from behind to take a point at home.

Despite Motherwell going two goals behind, Michael Wimmer’s side battled back valiantly to earn a point in the Fir Park sun.

A deflected goal from Caolan Boyd-Munce and a smart finish from Killian Phillips gave Saints a two-goal lead, before Callum Slattery’s well-measured strike reduced the leeway before half-time.

Slattery’s equaliser in an injury-strewn second half, including a serious one to Saints’ Boyd-Munce, was enough to see both sides having to settle for a share of the points.

Michael Wimmer made two changes from the side which won at Ibrox two weeks ago. Stephen O’Donnell returned to the back three, while striker Luke Plange was given his first start up front in place of the injured Luke Armstrong.

It should have been the perfect start for the Steelmen. With only a minute on the clock, a defensive mix-up at the edge of the Saints box allowed Tom Sparrow to race through on goal. But as Zach Hemming advanced from his line, the Well wide man lifted the ball over the keeper and his open goal.

The home goal had a narrow escape 22 minutes in when Dom Thompson’s poor clearance forced O’Donnell to head the ball off his own goal line.

The Well captain was less fortunate a minute later when the Paisley men took the lead. Although Boyd-Munce’s shot from 25 yards was on target, O’Donnell’s head sent the ball into the opposite corner of Balcombe’s goal. 0-1.

While Lennon Miller and Slattery pushed forward at every turn to support Plange, the ball never stayed up front for long.

And after 33 minutes, the Buddies doubled their lead with a well-taken goal. A cross into the box found Phillips, who chested the ball down before his half volley sent the ball flying past Balcombe from 16 yards.

Well’s response was immediate. Straight from the restart, Balcombe’s long ball was worked towards the visitor’s penalty area by Slattery, where he sidestepped Alex Iacovitti before steering the ball with the outside of his right boot inside Hemming’s right-hand post for a superb finish.

With renewed confidence, the Steelmen then had a period of sustained possession and pressure in the final third of the pitch.

A couple of minutes from half-time they almost found the equaliser with a swift attack. O’Donnell’s long diagonal ball found Thompson racing towards the box, and after he stretched to pull the ball back for Miller, the 18-year-old could only fire wide of target.

Eleven minutes into the second half, the Well boss brought on the experienced Harry Paton and Tony Watt at the expense of Kai Andrews and the hard-working Plange, who had a difficult shift against the physical presence of Saints central defenders.

All too often, play was broken up with a series of clumsy challenges.

On the hour mark, Iacovitti’s robust challenge took out several players, including his teammate Boyd-Munce. After a lengthy treatment on the touchline, the Saints midfielder was stretchered off wearing a neck brace.

It took Well only a couple of minutes after the long stoppage to find their feet and the equaliser.

Watt’s touch at the edge of the box inadvertently set up Slattery, who smacked the ball low and hard into the right-hand corner of Hemming’s goal to make it 2-2.

A minute later the game was halted again after a head knock between Liam Gordon and Toyosi Olusanya forced another substitution with Kofi Balmer coming into the Well central defence.

Not surprisingly, play became rather ragged and hurried as both teams chased a winning goal.

Another high challenge from Olusanya, this time on Dan Casey, earned the Saints striker a second yellow, reducing the visitors to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

All of that added up to 14 additional minutes and sufficient time for Well to press home their extra man.

With 96 minutes showing on the stadium clock, Wimmer threw on another forward, Moses Ebiye replacing Andy Halliday, but a winner for a third consecutive game never came.

Motherwell Team: Balcombe, Sparrow, O’Donnell, Gordon, Casey, Thompson, Halliday, Slattery, Miller, Andrews, Plange.

Motherwell Subs: Oxborough, Balmer, Wilson, Zdravkovski, Paton, Koutroumbis, Ebiye, Dickson.

A dedicated and loyal addition to the Motherwell backline, defender Katie Rice entered the 2024/25 campaign ready to mark her sixth consecutive season at the club by earning a place in the top-six of the Scottish Women’s Premier League. 

As the final pre-split fixture came to a close, the women of steel can firmly set their sights on the top-six when they welcome title-chasers Rangers to K-Park on Sunday. Rice acknowledged the effort to reach this milestone, but remained adamant that the squad aren’t there to make up numbers.

“We are in the top-six to compete,”Rice explained.

“We have earned the right to compete amongst the best by becoming highest performing part-time team in the country. Whilst we’re all incredibly proud to reach the top-six, the hard-work doesn’t suddenly stop.

“We want the top-six to be a regular occurrence for the squad, and we need to be consistent to achieve this. To be consistent, you have to perform against the full-time teams and we want to showcase what we’re capable of this weekend.

“Rangers will always be a difficult test, they have an incredibly talented squad who understand that every single point matters for them at this stage of the title race. We know what to expect, but ultimately we can only focus on ourselves and ensure we can carry out our gameplan effectively.”

Preparations swiftly resumed following last weekend’s Scottish Cup Quarter-Final victory over Boroughmuir Thistle, as the women of steel secured their place in the final-four at Hampden. Louisa Boyes broke the deadlock midway through the first-half before a Boroughmuir Thistle own-goal doubled Motherwell’s advantage moments later. Captain Gill Inglis sealed victory shortly before the half-time break, as the experienced defender curled home a magnificent right-footed effort into the top-left corner.

“We certainly celebrated the night of the game,” Rice added.

“It was a massive moment for the squad to get back to Hampden for the first-time since 2022, so we made sure to celebrate after the game, but once Monday came around; we were straight back into our preparations for the game this weekend.

“Training has been really positive this week. We’ve had the girls, who represented Scotland under-17s back involved, and there has been a really friendly atmosphere amongst the squad. There is a real bond between the players in the dressing room, we all want to support each other to drive our standards and performances forward, and we will be ready to start our top-six fixtures this weekend.

A familiar face will line-up against the women of steel this weekend, as striker Laura Berry returns to K-Park for the first-time since departing Motherwell to return to her parent club in January, after countless impressive display in a Motherwell jersey; netting 11-goals in 11-appearances. Rice is relishing the opportunity against her former teammate.

“It will be great to face off against Laura,” Rice joked.

“Laura was an exceptional player throughout the season, and an absolutely pivotal part in achieving a top-six finish, but we’re on either side of the pitch now. Once we hear the first-whistle, we’ll be looking to capitalise on our knowledge of her style of play and will try to nullify her game as best as we can.

“It’s going to be incredibly tough to cope with the immense talent at their disposal, but we’ve prepared in the correct manner, are feeling positive heading into this weekend, and are ready to make K-Park a difficult venue for teams to visit.

The K-Park faithful have backed the women of steel both home and away this season, leading the squad to the top-six and a place in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, and Rice hopes their following can guide Motherwell to a successful post-split campaign.

“The support we’ve received this season has been excellent,” Rice said.

“The crowds at K-Park have continued to grow season upon season, and with our position in the top-six and our Scottish cup run, we’re really keen to hopefully see these attendances grow. We’re really excited by the challenges at this stage of the season, and we hope to see you all supporting us through each game.

“I can’t wait to see you all backing us from the first whistle to the last this Sunday.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has been ruled out for at least eight weeks with a fractured wrist, which has required surgery.

After thorough assessment, it became clear that he would be unable to play and will missing for at least two months.

Speedy recovery, Apostolos.

Lennon Miller was delightfully surprised at his inclusion in the latest Scotland squad, saying he was expecting his Under 21 call-up only. Miller is looking forward to joining up with his Scotland teammates, so he can learn as much as possible from the experienced players within the ranks of Steve Clarke’s squad. 

Miller remains grounded and is looking forward to trying to match his father’s total number of caps.

Manager Michael Wimmer was thrilled to see Lennon Miller called up to the senior Scotland squad, and believes that the 18-year-old is more than ready for the step up in class. 

Wimmer is aware of the talent he has and has already picked up on the maturity he shows. The manager was also pleased to see Kai Andrews receive his first senior call up to the Welsh national side.