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Stuart McCall is glad to be back to talking about football as Motherwell prepare to travel to Ayr United for the first pre-season game of the new campaign.

Off-field matters have unfortunately completed dominated Scottish Football in the last few months much to the annoyance of the Fir Park boss.

But with football back on the agenda tomorrow with the visit to Somerset Park, McCall can’t wait to get started again.

[pullquote]All the players are looking forward to getting some football under their belts.[/pullquote]

“I’m looking forward to the game and so are the lads,” he said.

“We’ve been back over two weeks now and I was disappointed the game on Monday was cancelled but we’ve managed to get some dry games and training has been good and sharp.

“All the players are looking forward to getting some football under their belts.

“I’ve seen Ayr a couple of times since last year but I’m not too concerned about what other sides do, I’m just looking for a good work-out.

“Three or four of the lads will have a half and the majority of them will get an hour. We’ve got to kick on now as we’re a game light and then some of the younger boys will get the last half hour. We’ll all get a bit of football. We need to be careful though as as much as they need 90 minutes of football, you can’t just throw them into 90 minute scenarios.

“We’ll mix and match a little bit and we’re looking forward to the lads showing what they’ve been showing in training. They’ve been really sharp and I’ve been pleased with the way they’ve been working.”

-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ONLY ON MFC TV-

The club are today saddened to learn of the death of former striker Joe McBride, who passed away late last night after a short battle with illness.

Joe had already had a bit of a nomadic career before joining the Steelmen in 1962 for just £8,000; a CV boasting the likes of Kilmarnock, Wolves, Luton Town and Partick Thistle despite being just 24 years of age.

But it was in the Claret and Amber of Motherwell that his goalscoring exploits really came to the fore.

He made his debut in a goalless draw with Dundee United in November and netted his first goal in a 4-3 defeat at Dunfermline.

In his first season at Fir Park, he had scored eleven goals, the very next he hit the back of the net nineteen times.

He was a deadly finisher who was forged a reputation as one Britain’s most talented strikers. He famously helped the club land the 1965 Summer Cup by scoring against every side the club met.

That prompted legendary boss Jock Stein to prize him away to Celtic Park in 1965; Joe’s Motherwell stats read an incredible 51 goals in just 88 league appearances. His departure was noted by the board of the time as ‘sad as it was inevitable’ – a testament to his supreme quality.

He went on to have a glittering spell at Parkhead, cementing himself in the folklore of the Glasgow club after playing a part in the European Cup success in 1967, although injury ruled him out of the final itself, and a fearsome goal scoring rate.

He also latterly played for Hibernian, Dunfermline and Clyde before retiring in 1972.

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said, “We were saddened to hear of Joe’s death early this morning.

“Although Joe will probably be remembered by most in the Scotland football world for his time with Celtic, Motherwell fans who had the pleasure of seeing him blossom will always hold him in high regard.

“We take a great sense of pride in his achievements whilst he was at Fir Park and how players of his quality graced our club in what was a golden era in terms of quality of football and the Summer Cup in 1965.”

Everyone at Motherwell Football Club would like express our deepest condolences to Joe’s family and friends at this sad time.

Keith Lasley has today spoken of his pride at being officially named as Motherwell FC’s new club captain.

Lasley, 32, follows in the footsteps of the legendary Stephen Craigan who opted to retire at the conclusion of last season.

And the veteran midfielder, the Motherwell fans Player of the Year the past two seasons, hopes he can emulate some of the successful captains of yesteryear when he starts of his tenure this Saturday at Somerset Park.

“It’s an honour for me,” he told motherwellfc.co.uk

“I filled in a few times last season when Crags (Stephen Craigan) was injured and I certainly enjoyed that role.

“I’m now really looking forward to taking it on in a more regular basis this year and hopefully I can fulfil that to the best of my ability.

“I suppose the Captain is seen as the figurehead of the dressing room both on and off the park. There have been some great skippers in the past at this club and hopefully I can try and emulate them.”

Motherwell Football Club is proud to launch our Summer Soccer School for boys and girls aged between five and fifteen.

Following on a fantastic season for the first-team which saw us qualify for the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Champions League summer is here again.

During the summer holidays, the club will again be holding a Summer Soccer School aimed at young people, boys and girls, between the ages of 5 and 15 at the newly upgraded Fir Park AstroTurf behind the Stadium.

As usual, we will be providing a fun programme that will have something for everybody with 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 Motherwell Soccer School Coaches will help young players take themselves to the next level.

All our coaches are also accredited with the Scottish Football Association and should the weather prove a bit wet we can move activities through to our indoor gym, and other locations around the ground.

The Summer School will run from July 2nd through until August 10th starting at 9am and finishing at 3pm.

Prices are £45 for the full week; £10.00 a day; and £5.00 for a morning or afternoon session.

For more information and to book please call us on 01698 239 926 or you can book online at www.motherwellsoccerschools.com.

‘Well boss Stuart McCall cut a frustrated figure after learning tonight’s match with Rapid Bucharest would have to be cancelled due to adverse weather.

The Steelmen were to take on Romanians Rapid București at the Grangemouth Stadium near Falkirk but the pitch there was unable to cope with the recent deluge or rain.

The game will be rescheduled for tomorrow behind closed doors and fans can get their ticket money back, but McCall couldn’t hide his disappointment.

[pullquote]Even at Dalziel, we wouldn’t have got a full pitch otherwise we’d just have had a bounce game there amongst ourselves.[/pullquote]

He said: “We were hoping that with the game being called off on Saturday (Rapid București versus Livingston) that the park had been in a good enough state to carry on but unfortunately not.

“We’ve got a little back-up plan and will actually play them again tomorrow behind closed doors but it is disappointing the game is off tonight.

“The lads will be disappointed I’m sure but at least we’ve managed to get it on tomorrow.

“Even at Dalziel, we wouldn’t have got a full pitch otherwise we’d just have had a bounce game there amongst ourselves. Hopefully it will stay dry tonight and the lads will get at least 45 minutes under their belt tomorrow.”

-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-

Tonight’s pre-season friendly with Rapid București has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch at the Grangemouth Stadium.

An incredible amount of rain has fallen on Central Scotland in recent weeks and despite the best efforts of the groundstaff at the stadium, the pitch was deemed unplayable at 3pm today by a local referee.

Anyone who has purchased a ticket for the match can claim a refund at the Fir Park Ticket Office at their earliest convenience.

Keith Lasley expects a baptism of fire against Romanian heavyweights Rapid București in the first pre-season match of the new campaign.

The Steelmen get their preparations underway against high-quality opposition who have already made short work of Greenock Morton and Stenhousemuir in previous matches.

It will be the fifth time in five years the Steelmen have matched up against Romanian opposition, having previously faced Dinamo București, Steaua București, CFR Cluj and the now defunct Unirea Urziceni.

And the veteran midfielder is under no illusions just how big a test against a side with over fifteen international players in their squad.

[pullquote]In my experience, teams from Romanian are normally very talented and technically very good.[/pullquote]

He said: “It’s sure to be a stiff test – the key will be the style of football we are likely to face.

“There is no doubt that it’s a different style and a different pace; we’ve found that over the last few years in Europe. In my experience, teams from Romanian are normally very talented and technically very good.

“We are looking forward to it though, being our first match. We have put in a lot of running and fitness work over the last ten days so it will be good to get some time on the ball.

“Coming up against a team of this calibre will hopefully stand us in good stead going in to the Champions League game at the end of the month.”

-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-

Assistant boss Kenny Black reckons the week spent on the south coast of Portugal has given the player a great platform for the season ahead.

The Steelmen swapped the torrential rain of West Central Scotland for the heat and humidity of the Algarve for a week of intense training.

Now back home, Black hopes being away will serve as ideal preparation for the round of pre-season matches that will kick-off tomorrow night against talented Romanians Rapid București.

[pullquote]The facilities were first class. It was a marvellous opportunity for us to get together as a group and work on things and build the players fitness.[/pullquote]

“We managed to get three sessions in per day in extremely hot conditions,” he said.

“The facilities were first class. It was a marvellous opportunity for us to get together as a group and work on things and build the players fitness.

“We had some problems with the weather when we returned for pre-season so to go there and have the pitches in such good condition; I am sure all the players enjoyed it. 

“It was a great base for us to start from and the job of the players is to kick on with the pre-season matches now upon us.”

-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-

The Motherwell players touched down in the UK last night after a five-day intense training camp in the south of Portugal.

Scottish Sun photographer Keith Campbell has kindly supplied a selection of images from the week.

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Motherwell Football Club today launched ‘Steelmen Forever’, a campaign designed at focusing fans, sponsors and well-wishers behind one banner.

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said, “There has been plenty of negativity around the game in recent months but the new landscape of Scottish Football provides hope and opportunity.

“I believe we are about half way through our journey to being a truly sustainable fan owned club. 

“A club working toward a secure financial base, underpinning a community and talent development model.  I see the early and encouraging results that are happening because of the changes we made four years ago – a strategic decision that moved to fully focus the club wholly on family, on community and on local people.

“Our gates are up again this year and importantly we are seeing more young people in the stadium now than at any time in our recent past, this can only bode well for the future.  The average attendances at Fir Park were up last year by 13% to 5,948 – non Old Firm attendance averages were up even higher at 19% last season. 

“It shows that when you offer the very best value you can, when you invest in supporter relationships and when there is entertainment to be had on the field, that supporters can and will flock back to the game.

“Recent events though have moved out with our control and if we do not act, we could face a material risk to our club.  Scottish football is currently in crisis and we need to face up to this challenge by uniting as clubs and as supporters to get every club through these difficult time.

“Today we are launching ‘Steelmen Forever’.

“A campaign designed at focusing fans, sponsors and well-wishers behind one banner. This is the first club campaign and we know other clubs will be joining us to promote and protect our game. We will work closely with our SPL partners to help each other but our first focus is Motherwell.

“We have six key asks and five key pledges that form the basis of how the club plans to navigate this difficult period.  These will change with time and progress and with your help we’ll devise more.  We ask everyone who cares about what we are about to help. There is a real chance for the fans in this country to rescue the game and we want you to play a big part in that.

“We need you now more than ever – football supporters and the wider Lanarkshire community to help us bridge that gap and keep us on our progression path.”

CLICK HERE for more information on ‘Steelmen Forever’