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Stephen Craigan limped off with an injury as a depleted Northern Ireland side crashed 3-0 to a slick Scotland outfit.

The Motherwell skipper was also captaining his country for the Carling Nations Cup clash, winning his 53rd cap and, more poignantly, his 50th whilst a Motherwell player.

[onlymembers]However, Craig Levein’s side were too strong and goals from Kenny Millar, James McArthur and Kris Commons gave Scotland all three points, putting them joint top of the group after the first round of matches.

Worryingly, Craigan had to be withdrawn after 66 minutes with a hamstring knock and was replaced by Irish debutant Adam Thompson.

With defenders Steven Saunders and Stevie Hammell already sidelined with similar problems, ‘Well boss Stuart McCall will be praying his inspirational captain isn’t too badly hurt.

Motherwell Football Club would like to pay tribute to Stephen for reaching such a momentous milestone, one unlikely to ever be surpassed, and for his professionalism whilst representing the club on International duty over the last seven years.[/onlymembers]

Motherwell travel to Ibrox this Saturday hoping for their first win in Govan in almost fourteen years.

You have to go back to May 1997 and an Owen Coyle double to find Motherwell’s last win against a then Rangers side looking to clinch their ninth consecutive league championship.

That Rangers squad contained the current ‘Well boss Stuart McCall who will be plotting the downfall of his former side.

Also in the Motherwell ranks will be debutant Francis Jeffers, himself a former Rangers player, so maybe, just maybe, the Steelmen can finally end that long-standing hoodoo and pick up three precious points in the race for the top-six.

Motherwell fans will be housed in the usual Govan West Corner with Tickets, currently on sale from the Fir Park Ticket Office, priced at:

Adults: £24
Concessions: £12

• Concessions are listed as Under 16s and Over 65s
• Fans who require wheelchair access should contact Elaine MacDonald at the club on 01698 338009 or email tickets@motherwellfc.co.uk.
• The Ticket Office will be open late night on Thursday 10th February (until 7pm) but will be closed on the day of the match – Saturday 12th February.

SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION

Two Supporters Association coaches will make their way to the match:

CENTRAL BRANCH

The bus for Ibrox will leave the Bentley Hotel at 1.30pm. Phone Jim on (01698) 299650 or e-mail Christopher on christopher_hutton@btinternet.com.

BELLSHILL & DISTRICT BRANCH

The bus for Rangers will pick up at the Fir Park Club, Motherwell at 1.20pm then the Holytown War Monument at 1.30pm and finally the Carousel Bar, Bellshill at 1.40pm. To book seats, contact Brian Worton after 6pm on (01698) 747644.

TRAVEL

BY CAR

The stadium is located close to the M8 motorway and is relatively straightforward to get to.

Exit the M8 at Junction 23 and turn right at the traffic lights on to the B768 (Dumbreck Road). Continue forward on to Broomload Road and then turn right at the roundabout on to Edmiston Drive. The stadium will be clearly visible ahead.

Parking is available for visiting fans behind the Broomloan Road Stand, priced at £7.00 per car. Street parking is also available on the side streets around the ground, although traffic is always very busy before and after the game.

BY BUS

Several operators run buses which will take you within a five to 10 minute walk of the ground, including First service 9.

Further information and timetables are available online at www.firstgroup.com/glasgow.

BY TRAIN

Cardonald and Dumbreck stations are served by trains from Glasgow Central and both are within walking distance of the ground.

Further information and timetables are available online at www.scotrail.co.uk.

Alternatively, fans can make use of the underground system as Ibrox has its own designation station.

Further information and timetables are available online at www.spt.co.uk/subway.

Motherwell’s Scottish Cup Quarter Final clash against Dundee United will be shown live on Sky Sports.

It will be the second time this season the broadcasters have shown a Motherwell Scottish Cup clash in Dundee, having previously beamed the 4th Round tie at Dens Park.

[onlymembers]‘Well will be looking to knock United out another competition at the Quarter Final stage, having eliminated Peter Houston’s side from the Co-operative Insurance Cup last October.

The game will take place on Sunday March 13th 2011 with a 1.15pm kick-off.

Ticket information has still to be confirmed.

Co-incidentally, the SPL game between both clubs, scheduled to take place on Saturday 16th April has been moved forward ten days, to Wednesday 6th April (KO 7.45pm) due to the Scottish Cup Semi Final dates.[/onlymembers]

Francis Jeffers is looking forward to helping one of his footballing idols lift Motherwell up the table.

‘Well’s new signing watched from the Wembley terracing as Stuart McCall fired home a brace in the 1989 FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool.

[onlymembers]Little did he know that some twenty years later that very same McCall would be presenting him to the media as Motherwell’s marquee signing.

“I was a young lad in the terraces when Stuart McCall scored two goals for Everton in the (English FA) Cup Final.” Jeffers recalled.  

“He’s one of my heroes. I hold him in high regard as a part of team who were all my idols.”

The former Everton and Arsenal striker has joined the Steelmen on a five-month contract after the expiry of his deal with Newcastle Jets, and he insists that the move to North Lanarkshire was an exciting prospect from the moment he heard about it.

“I was really positive about coming to Motherwell. My agent got in touch with me and asked whether I would be interested in talking to the club and I was very keen so it went pretty quickly from there,” the 30-year-old said.

“I want to enjoy my game, win some football matches and, hopefully, help Motherwell climb the league.

“I think I’m a better footballer now than when I was a young lad. I wasn’t really involved in the game in the past; I would just be a poacher.” 

Jeffers was also quick to allay and fears that the ‘Well fans may have regarding his hunger and desire.

The English international has been playing top level football since he was sixteen, but his passion for the game shows no sign of waning – especially after a recently productive spell Down Under.

“I’d say ‘wait and see’ to any Motherwell fans that might doubt my desire,” Jeffers challenged, defiantly. “I will prove that on the football field. People asked the same question when I went over to Australia and I was pretty successful there.

“Motherwell fans will see what hunger I have when I play my first match.”

The 30-year old insists that he has nothing to prove going back to Ibrox this Saturday, but he admits that he is looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground.

Jeffers played for the Ibrox club in a six-month loan spell in 2005, but struggled for form and fitness in a disappointing period for the front-man.

He continued: “Those are the grounds that you want to play at, and the Rangers fans were the most passionate fans I ever played in front of – I really enjoyed my time there.

“I didn’t have the best time at Rangers in terms of form. I really enjoyed the time at the club but I didn’t play my best football and I really suffered with injuries and didn’t get a run in the team. But I don’t think I have a point to prove; if I get the chance I will score goals.

“Whether or not I play I will certainly look forward to making the trip.”[/onlymembers]

Motherwell Football Club are today delighted to confirm the signing of former England International striker Francis Jeffers.

Jeffers, 30, who was most recently at Aussie A League club Newcastle Jets, has an impressive array of former clubs including Everton, Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Rangers and was capped at senior level by England in 2003, scoring on his debut against Australia.

[onlymembers]The Liverpudlian burst onto the scene back in the late 90’s with Everton before winning an £8million move to Arsenal and famously acquired the “Fox in the box” tag.

He has also had spells at Charlton, Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in his thirteen-year career and will look to rediscover some of that early form in his five months at Fir Park.

‘Well boss Stuart McCall said, “Francis is an excellent player and someone we think will score goals in the Scottish Premier League.

“When you look through the history of this football club, Motherwell have excelled with three types of players.

“The first is brining younger guys through – in recent times you have McFadden, Clarkson, Pearson and Quinn.

“The second is taking players from England, giving them a platform, and propelling their career – again, you have recent examples with John Ruddy, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Giles Coke and others.

“And finally, the third is taking guys who are at the latter stages of their career, and giving them a second wind. You need only look at Tommy Coyne, Owen Coyle, Willie Falconer.

“We hope Franny can get back to some of his early career form. There is absolutely no doubting his ability and in the conversations I’ve had with him, he seems really hungry for this challenge.”[/onlymembers]

Referee for this Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League clash with Rangers is Alan Muir.

It will be Muir’s third ‘Well game of the season, having overseen the 1-1 draw with St Mirren in Paisley last November and January’s 2-0 win over Hibs at Fir Park.

[onlymembers]He’ll be a familiar face to Motherwell fans having taken charge of three games last term too.

The most recent was certainly one to forget though; a 4-0 defeat by Celtic in Glasgow at the start of May this year.

He took charge of the 3-2 extra-time with over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Co-operative Insurance Cup Fourth Round and the lively 2-2 draw against Dundee United back in late November 2009.

The latter was infamous for two red cards, shown to Prince Bauben and Danny Swanson, and a missed red card for Jennison Myrie-Williams which prompted the then United boss Craig Levein to remove him from the game almost immediately.

The season before last, Muir was the man in the middle for the 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in October, the 0-0 draw with St Mirren at Love Street in January and the 3-0 victory over Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park in May.

In all those games he has produced 27 yellow cards, eleven of which were shown to a player in claret and amber, and two red card, the first given to former defender Paul Quinn for a professional foul on David Fernandez in the 1-0 defeat to Killie and the most recent to Michael Higdon in that game with St Mirren two months ago.

The 35-year-old has taken charge of six SPL games so far in this campaign, including Celtic’s 9-0 annihilation of Aberdeen which produced three yellow cards, two red cards and three penalty kicks.

His other appointments have come at Tannadice when Inverness Caley hammered Dundee Utd by 4-0, New Douglas Park where a 90th minute goal by Kenny Miller gave Rangers all three points against Hamilton.

He’s also been at the Caledonian Stadium as Inverness drew with St Johnstone and again at Tannadice when Kilmarnock held the Tangerines to a 1-1 draw and most recently at Pittodrie where Celtic ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

He will be ably assisted on the day by John Gilmour and Alan Mulvanny, with Eddie Smith on fourth official duties.[/onlymembers]

It’s time to vote for your favourite Clydesdale Bank Premier League goal of the month, with Sky Sports.

Sky have selected their top ten goals from the month which are shown on their website for you to view and pick your favourite.

If your choice matches the goal selected by Sky Sports pundit Neil McCann you could win a new Apple iPod touch 8GB and a pair of tickets to a Clydesdale Bank Premier League match of your choice.  Just go to their website and click on the Goal of the Month link to see the goals, and have your say.

Closing date is Tuesday 14th February.

http://www.skysports.com/football/scottishpremier/goal-of-the-month/

Terms and conditions apply.

Firstly, can I apologise for not getting my thoughts out to you yesterday after the match. As you may have seen, I was on Sportscene late last night and didn’t get home until the very early hours of the morning.
 
One of the positives from emailing out so late is that I have had another chance to watch yesterday’s game again in full. When you get that opportunity, if often gives you a different perspective of events; taking out the emotion of the day.
 
We fully merited our win and whilst Stranraer can be very proud of their performance, I don’t think we were ever in any real danger throughout the ninety minutes. Darren Randolph has only had one save to make and even that was fairly comfortable for him.
 
On that subject, I would like to pay tribute to Darren and his goalkeeping coach Stewart Kerr. Yesterday was his fourteenth clean sheet of the season; he is now only one behind John Ruddy’s total of fifteen for the whole of last season. Speaking to people at the club, there was a fair degree of concern when Ruddy joined Norwich during the summer but full credit to Darren, he’s been excellent and proved a more than able replacement.
 
Another positive from yesterday was the performances of our two newest signings, Gavin Gunning and Steve Jones. Taking everything into consideration, I thought both players added something to the team and hopefully, between now and the end of the season, they can continue to make an impact.
 
We now face Dundee Utd in the Quarter Final which will, no doubt, be a tough tie. However, we’re shown our resolve in Cup competitions already this season and we’ll go there looking to progress.
 
The major disappointment of yesterday’s win was the injuries picked up by both Keith Lasley and Steven Saunders. Our squad is already small and with Stevie Hammell already struggling with a hamstring injury, this is the last thing we need.
 
Keith picked up a rib injury whilst Steven is feeling his hamstring. Both lads are very sore but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow before we can full assess the damage. I suppose the only positive is that we don’t have a game during the week so hopefully; with a bit of rest over the next few days, we’ll at least have one of them back in time to face Rangers at Ibrox next Saturday.
 
On another issue, I am sure you will all have read that our search for a striker is on-going. What I will say is that Francis Jeffers is not, at the point of writing this, a Motherwell player. After being stung by the whole Mike Grella situation, we are obviously cautious about announcing anything about any player before we have the appropriate clearance and paperwork.
 
I would like to finish by thanking all the fans that made the long journey down to Stranraer yesterday. I understand how financially difficult it is to follow your team, particularly at this time of year, so all credit to the 1,000 or so fans that made the trip on what is quite a difficult road. We’ve got a very, very important February and March with home games against Hamilton, St Mirren and Celtic coming up in a few weeks time. Keep at your friends, family and colleagues to join us at Fir Park as we continue to build Motherwell together.
 
Forever Claret and Amber,

Stuart McCall
Manager

Motherwell face a tricky away tie against holders Dundee United in the Quarter Finals of the Scottish Cup.

After disposing of Stranraer and Hamilton Accies respectively, both teams were eager to find out who they would face in the draw at Ibrox this afternoon.

Motherwell lost 2-0 at Tannadice last month but will hope for a change in fortune when the teams are due to meet on either the 12th or 13th of March.

Full Quarter final draw:

• Dundee United v Motherwell
• St Mirren v Aberdeen or Dunfermline
• Inverness CT v Rangers or Celtic
• Brechin City v St Johnstone or Partick Thistle

‘Well boss Stuart McCall was pleased with his side who overcame a stubborn Stranraer to book a place in tomorrow’s Quarter Final draw.

Goals in either half from Steve Jones and John Sutton helped the Fir Parkers to the win.

And former Bradford boss McCall admitted he was just pleased to get through the tie which looked tough before kick-off.

“We knew it was going to be a tricky tie, I said before the game the most important thing was to get through,” he said.

“We would like to have been better and made it easier for ourselves, but all credit to Stranraer. They stuck at it and made it difficult for us at times.

“I thing getting the first goal was the key, if we had gone behind it would have been a really difficult today. The bottom line is that we are through to the next round and that’s what we came here to do. We have played better in the last two games and got nothing, the main thing is we are in the draw tomorrow.”

Asked if he was surprised by Stranraer, McCall added, “No they didn’t; we have had them watched three times and we knew it would be a tricky one unless we got up a couple of goals early on.

“They stuck at it, but we were sloppy in possession at time, and we made the wrong decisions at times. The second goal was well worked, but in general we needed to move the ball quicker. We thought they would tire but they plugged away and that is all credit to their players and manager.”

The only downside to this afternoon’s match was injuries to Keith Lasley and Steven Saunders, who join hamstring victim Stevie Hammell on the sidelines.

Lasley picked up a nasty rib injury following an accidental clash after just three minutes and Scotland International Saunders  had to go off with ten minutes remaining with a hamstring problem.

A frustrated McCall cursed his luck and hoped a few days off would help some of the walking wounded make next week’s game at Ibrox.

He said: “The only real downside is a couple of injuries, Lasley looks as though he might have cracked a couple of ribs, we hope they are only badly bruised and not cracked. Then Steven Saunders had to come off with a hamstring towards the end.

“The players need a break, we have given them a few days off as we have no midweek game and hopefully they can re-charge their batteries. Then we look forward to going to Ibrox next Saturday.”