Latest News

Following Celtic’s William Hill Scottish Cup Final success on Sunday, Motherwell have been confirmed as entrants in the Third Qualifying Round of the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League.

The matches in this round will be scheduled for Thursday 1^st August, with the return leg one week later, Thursday 8^th August.

The seedings are yet to be confirmed but it is likely Stuart McCall’s side will go into the draw unseeded.

Seeded teams already confirmed for the Third Qualifying Round include the likes of Udinese, Club Brugge, Saint-Étienne, Swansea City and Bursaspor.

The draw for the Third Qualifying Round will take place in Switzerland on Friday 19^th July.

The club will confirm additional information around any proposed charters and ticketing information when more details of the opponent become clear.

For more information on the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League, vist the UEFA website.

Motherwell Football Club is today delighted to confirm manager Stuart McCall has opted to stay on as manager despite interest from English League One side Sheffield United.

Following a formal request, the Bramall Lane club were granted permission to speak to Stuart last week.

However, the 40-times capped former Scotland midfielder, who is contracted until the summer of 2015, has decided to continue on with his role at Fir Park.

Commenting, McCall said: “It has been a really difficult last few days. As most people probably know, I spent five great years at Sheffield United.

“I was grateful to the board for allowing me to speak to them but I went with an open mind. I had no desire to leave Motherwell after enjoying two-and-a-half great years at the club.

“There is no doubt Sheffield United are a fantastic club but, after careful consideration and deliberation, I am more than happy to continue my current role at Fir Park.

“I have built up a tremendous feeling for Motherwell, the people who work at the club and the supporters. It would take something really special to tempt me away.

[pullquote]I have built up a tremendous feeling for Motherwell, the people who work at the club and the supporters. It would take something really special to tempt me away.[/pullquote]

“Along with the rest of the coaching staff and the board, we will continue preparations for the new season, adding new players to the squad and looking forward to a return to European football in early August.”

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster added: “Our admiration for Stuart and the job he has done in the two-and-a-half years at Motherwell is certainly no secret.

“However, we think it is only right never to stand in our staff’s way if a big offer comes in. That is why we granted permission and respectfully remained silent during the process.

“That being said, we are absolutely delighted our manager has decided to stay with us. Stability and continuity when we are changing the squad is very desirable so it’s a huge bonus to have Stuart continue in his current role.

“We are really excited about the future and the focus of everyone at the club will be to give Stuart and his staff all the support they need at an important time of the year.”

Nicky Law has today completed his pre-contract move to Scottish Third Division Champions Rangers.

Law, 25, joined Motherwell in the summer of 2011 from Rotherham United and has enjoyed two terrific years at Fir Park.

He has helped the club finish ‘best of the rest’ in both 2011/12 and 2012/13, playing a major creative role from midfield. He also played in both the UEFA Champions League, against Panathinaikos, and in the UEFA Europa League, against Levante U.D. in what was a memorable 24 months for the Steelmen.

Schooled at Sheffield United as a youngster, Law notified the club some weeks ago of his intention to leave at the end of his contract. He departs having played 86 games, scoring 13 goals.

A number of clubs were reportedly interested, but the Englishman has chosen to move to Ally McCoist’s Rangers as they plan their assault on the Scottish Football League Second Division next season.

Everyone at Motherwell Football Club would like to sincerely thank Nicky for his fantastic contribution whilst at Fir Park and wish him every success in his future career.

The Motherwell FC Community Trust will again host Football Camps aimed at young people aged between 5-14 at the Fir Park AstroTurf this weekend

The two-day course, which runs on Friday 24h May and Monday 27th May, will provide a fun programme for attendees.

For our football enthusiasts, we will have a wide range of football activities from dribbling, passing and shooting through to penalty competitions, and small-sided games.

We are passionate about improving the skills of all our players and our experienced SFA Accredited coaches will help young players take themselves to the next level.

Prices are £10 per day or £20 for the full 2 days; half days are also available for £5.

The sessions will run from 9am-4pm, for more information on what you need to bring with you as well as bookings, visit www.motherwellsoccerschools.com. Alternatively, phone the Motherwell Football Club Community Trust on 01698 239 926.

The Motherwell Football Club Community Trust has become one of the first professional clubs in the country to be awarded the SFA Quality Mark.

This award is in recognition of the valuable contribution to grassroots football, that Community Trust make on a daily basis, offering the local community the chance to get involved with the club.

The Community Club Award, part of the Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme run by the Scottish FA in partnership with McDonald’s and sportscotland, recognises pro-active clubs and schools working to increase youth and community participation.

Clubs and schools receive the award after meeting standards in areas such as coach and player development, management, administration, welfare and planning.

There are four Quality Mark categories – Standard, Development, Community and Legacy. So far more than 400 clubs and schools have achieved accreditation over the categories, and over 5,000 coaches have benefited from coach education and first aid training.

McDonald’s, Scottish FA’s community partner since 2002, are committed to helping young footballers shine by attracting 13,000 new volunteers and 10,000 new coaches by 2014, as well as supporting 600 clubs and 52,000 players through new and existing football networks.

Through Quality Mark, McDonald’s and the Scottish FA aim to provide support to grassroots clubs and schools across Scotland as they strive to broaden youth and community participation and to enhance player, coach and volunteer development.

The Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme is supported by sportscotland, the national agency for sport. sportscotland has one clear focus – to develop a world class sporting system for Scotland – and works with partners to build success for Scottish sport.

sportscotland is a key partner in the delivery of youth football programmes, investing over £1m per year in activities including employment of club development staff, discounted coach education and training for volunteers.

Graeme McArthur, Programme Development Manager for Motherwell Football Club Community Trust explains “We are delighted to have received this award in recognition of the hard work that everybody within the Trust has put in since its inception.

“To be recognised at a national level and to be one of only a few professional clubs to have received this award is a great honour for us and one which we are very proud of. Through the Quality Mark award we now have  a variety of teams from children through to adults offering the opportunity to get involved in football and represent Motherwell Football Club Community Trust.”

Alan Taylor, Regional Development Manager for the SFA continued “The Scottish FA are delighted to recognise Motherwell FC Community Trust as a Community level Quality Mark club, the award is in recognition of the quality provision that the club offer to players within the non professional game.

“The club have a wide range of playing opportunities for all members of the Motherwell community and we look forward to working with the club to continue to increase the number of players, coaches and volunteers involved in the clubs community programmes”

After 38 rounds of Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixtures, the online predictor game Score Selector from SPL sponsor Clydesdale Bank has been won by Motherwell fan, Nancy Buchanan.

Nancy, whose Score Selector screen name is ‘NANCYMFC’, racked up an impressive 170 points during the 2012/13 season correctly predicting an impressive 29 exact results along the way to lead the chasing pack by nine points.

Nancy, who received her winning cheque for £10,000 from Motherwell forward Michael Higdon in a special presentation at Fir Park, said: “I’m delighted to win Score Selector, it was starting to get extremely nerve-racking over the past few weeks knowing I was top of the leaderboard. I was trying not to think too hard over my predictions, although my heart did rule over my head when it came to Motherwell’s results.”

“We have our own family league set up and it is always a great talking point over who could predict the most results. It was around Christmas I first topped the league and my family always said teams who are top at Christmas never hold on but I’m so glad I managed it.”

Talking about how she intended to spend her £10,000 prize, Nancy said:
“I think I will treat myself to a nice holiday, possibly go on a cruise. I also have grandkids who I think deserve a treat or two!”

Steven Hunt, Clydesdale Bank Sponsorship Manager commented on the success of Score Selector:
“Congratulations to all our winners and of course to Nancy our newly crowned Score Selector Champion. To correctly predict 29 exact results in what has been a highly competitive Clydesdale Bank Premier League season is an impressive achievement to say the least.

“We are delighted with the ever growing support Score Selector has had throughout our time as sponsor and would like to thank everyone who has taken part.”

Michael Higdon has been awarded the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Golden Boot for finishing the top goalscorer in the league this season.

Higdon has played a huge part in Motherwell’s success by scoring 26 league goals to help his side finish in second position in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Michael has scored many goals this season, but one of his most important may have been his penalty against Celtic in a 3-1 win for his side that confirmed Motherwell’s place in the Europa League next season.

Higdon topped the Clydesdale Bank Premier League goalscoring charts with 26 goals, closely followed by Billy McKay from Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Leigh Griffiths from Hibernian who both scored 23 league goals this season.

In what has been an incredible season for the 29-year old former Crewe striker, Higdon has broken Wullie Pettigrew’s post-war record for most top league goals in a season, was named the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Player of the Month on two separate occasions and became the first ‘Well player in history to be named the PFA Scotland Player of the Year.

He also scooped the Motherwell Supporters Association Player of the Year, completing a sensational campaign.

Everyone at the club would like to congratulate Michael on yet another accolade.

The club can confirm the following squad changes as of Saturday 1st June 2013.

Leaving the club after their contracts expire on 31st May will be:

• Darren Randolph (Birmingham City)
• Steven Saunders
• Nicky Law
• Omar Daley
• Steven Hetherington
• Josh Watt
• Nicky Devlin

The following players have been / will be offered extended terms with the club:

• Tom Hateley
• Chris Humphrey
• Michael Higdon
• Fraser Kerr
• James McFadden

The following players loan has expired and will return to their parent club:

• Kallum Higginbotham (Huddersfield Town)

The following Under 20 players have left the club after their contracts expired:

• Adam Asghar
• Dominic Green

Motherwell Football Club would like to sincerely thank all the players who are leaving the club for their efforts whilst at Fir Park and wish them every success in the future careers.