Latest News

Stuart McCall’s Motherwell travel north this Sunday to take on Dundee in the Scottish Cup Fourth Round.

The Dees have battled through the problems of administration admirably well and sit just one point off the top of the First Division table, despite losing their management team and a host of first-team players.

They do have an outstanding 25-point deduction hanging over the head, which would take them bottom, but former ‘Well supremo Bryan Jackson at PKF is still appealing that judgment.

Motherwell have found good form hard to come by in recent times but Stuart McCall has given everyone at the club a lift and the players will be eager to impress in front of the live Sky cameras.

Motherwell fans will be housed in the Bob Shankly Stand, behind the goal, with tickets available on the gate priced at:

Adults: £15
Concessions: £5

• Concessions are listed as Under 16’s and 60 and over’s.
• Fans that require wheelchair access should contact the club on 01698 338068 or email tickets@motherwellfc.co.uk.

Supporters Association

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

WISHAW BRANCH

The Wishaw branch bus to Dundee on Sunday 9th January will leave Wishaw at 11am. To book seats phone Anne (01698) 470601 or email andrew.sim48@btinternet.com.

CENTRAL BRANCH

The bus for Dundee will leave the Bentley Hotel at 10.45am. Phone Jim on (01698) 299650 or e-mail Christopher on christopher_hutton@btinternet.com.

BELLSHILL & DISTRICT BRANCH

The Dundee bus will pick up at the Fir Park Club, Motherwell at 9.40am then the Carousel Bar, Bellshill at 9.50am and finally the Holytown War Monument at 10.00am. To book seats, contact Brian Worton after 6pm on (01698) 747644.

By car

The stadium is located less than 200 yards from Dens Park, home of their city rivals Dundee, and is well signposted for travelling fans.

Head towards Perth on the A9 and then follow the A90 into Dundee, leaving at the junction with the B960 to turn right on to Clepington Road (signposted Football traffic).

Continue along Clepington Road for one mile and go through a roundabout before turning right on Arklay Street. The stadium will be clearly visible on the left.

Street parking is available on numerous streets around the ground.

By bus

Several operators run buses to Dundee, departing every hour from Buchanan Station in Glasgow city centre.

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

By train

Dundee station is over two miles away from the ground, although frequent bus services run throughout the city.

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

Referee for this Sunday’s Scottish Cup Fourth Round clash with Dundee at Dens Park will be Steve Conroy.

Conroy, who has been a senior official for almost a decade, has been surprisingly absent from most top-team games this campaign. Indeed, his one and only SPL fixture so far has been Inverness’s 4-2 home win over Hibernian in mid-November.

Despite that, he’ll be a familiar face to most Motherwell fans having officiated three games last season.

The first was Hibs’ 3-1 win at Fir Park in September which was followed by another 3-1 reverse, this time at the hands of St Johnstone on Boxing Day; incidentally, Jim Gannon’s last match in charge at Fir Park.

His most recent was about a year ago, when he was the man in the middle for Motherwell’s terrific 3-0 win at Pittodrie thanks to a Lukas Jutkiewicz goal and a brace from John Sutton.

Despite his top-flight experience, Conroy has never taken charge of a Motherwell versus Dundee encounter, nor has he officiated the Steelmen on Scottish Cup duty.

His overall record in Motherwell games is a bit of a mix bag for the Fir Parkers. Motherwell have won six, drawn two and lost eight of the sixteen games Conroy has taken charge of. Fifteen goals have been scored whilst twenty have hit the back of the ‘Well net.

In those games, 36 players have been cautioned, twelve wearing Claret and Amber, whilst two have been dismissed (Francisco Miranda of St Mirren in 2008/09 and Scott Wilson of Dunfermline in 2005/06.

Conroy will be ably assisted by Tom Murphy and Stephen Mitchell with Euan Norris on fourth official duties.

For the first time ever, Motherwell FC will be fielding community teams in leagues and competitions across Lanarkshire from Spring 2011.

If you want to be play for the ‘Well, and maybe realise your dream of notching a hat trick in the famous claret and amber then you must first be enrolled in one of our soccer schools.

This way you will get expert coaching from our community coaches that will improve your technique, game awareness and fitness.

Enrolling in our soccer schools is easy using our online booking service at www.motherwellsoccerschools.com. The cost is £40.00 for a ten week booking.

If you would like to know more about our community teams or our soccer schools give us a call on 01698 239 926 or download our brochure by Clicking Here.

Mark Reynolds, Jamie Murphy and John Sutton all reached important milestones in their Motherwell careers this afternoon.

Mark Reynolds, a product of the Youth Development programme, took part in his 200th game for the club, despite being just 23-years-old.

What makes the stat even more remarkable is that the defender has started every single one of those games and has yet to make a senior substitute appearance. Motherwell-born, Reynolds holds the joint record for most appearances in European competition and has played at every International level with the exception of the full squad, but that call can’t be far away.

Jamie Murphy is another star to emerge from the Motherwell FC production line, blasting onto the scene in April 2007. This afternoon was his 100th SPL appearance in Claret and Amber, 51 of those coming as a starter. The Scotland U21 star has a decent scoring record (20 goals in 62 starts), particularly when you consider a large proportion of games he has been utilised on the flanks.

And John Sutton has been ever-present in the side too since he signed Wycombe Wanderers in August 2008. The striker racked up his 100th appearance for Motherwell this afternoon. Always a goal threat, the 27-year old has netted a very respectable 31 times in just 80 starts for the club.

Stuart McCall believes there is more to come from his Motherwell side after enduring a disappointing first match in charge of the Steelmen. 

‘Well drew 0-0 with their Lanarkshire neighbours Hamilton in a match which was fairly low on quality and saw both sides struggle to carve many clear-cut openings.

The gaffer expects to see an improvement after a little more time to work with his new charges.

“The attacking team we had out today are much better that what they’ve shown,” the former Bradford City manager insisted.

“Thankfully – although the games come thick and fast soon – we have a week off now and I can work with the players on the training ground. There are little things that I would like to work on; aspects of the game that I think we can improve on – and that we will improve on.

“There are positives: It’s a clean sheet and we’ve got the point to build on. So well be positive and move on.”

McCall was refreshingly honest in his assessment of a tame Lanarkshire derby, admitting that his Motherwell side didn’t deserve much more than the point they came away with.

Although opportunities were at a premium, the home side had the pick of the chances, and could have pinched all three points when Dougie Imrie hared through on goal, only to fire wide of the post.

A John Sutton effort, which cannoned off the bar, was the closest the visitors came as both sides continued their run without a win.

“I’m slightly disappointed to be honest,” the 46-year old said candidly. “I don’t think we deserved any more than what we got. It was a derby match and it was never going to be a classic, but we were sloppy at times and we have to be better than that.

“We had some decent possession in the first half, without really turning that into goal scoring chances. I was content at half-time and thought, if we could build on the possession, we could get the win.

“But it didn’t turn out like that, and at the end Imrie has run through and he could have nicked the win for them. So there’s actually relief in a way, but I know we have better quality than what we’ve shown today.”

Pictures from the 0-0 draw with Hamilton in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at New Douglas Park. These action shots and more are available to buy online at www.motherwellpics.com.

[svgallery name=”hamilton010111″]

[tab:Match report]

Stuart McCall had to be content with a point on his ‘Well managerial debut after an uninspiring contest at New Douglas Park.

Chances were at a premium throughout, but the home side arguably had the clearer sights at goal, with the excellent Dougie Imrie coming close on three separate occasions.

Motherwell’s best opportunity came in the second-half after some excellent work from Jamie Murphy saw the young forward skin his marker and whip in a superb cross which deflected inches over the bar, via a combination of John Sutton and Tomas Cerny.

The new gaffer made one change to the side which lost 1-0 to Celtic in midweek under the temporary stewardship of Gordon Young, as ‘Well’s top scorer Nick Blackman returned to the starting line-up in place of Mark Fitzpatrick.

A Lanarkshire derby was a fitting occasion for a couple of Motherwell youth products to reach notable milestones, with talented centre-back Mark Reynolds playing his 200th game for the club and Scotland under-21 starlet Jamie Murphy making his 100th SPL appearance.

Despite the local importance of the fixture and the excitement surrounding the new face in the away dugout, it was a very low-key opening to matters at New Douglas Park, with both sides struggling to find any passing fluency or attacking intent.

Indeed, it took until the 20 minute mark for either side to register a noteworthy effort on goal. Gary McDonald received the ball on the edge of the ‘Well area and, with scarce options, drove a shot straight at Darren Randolph, who fielded comfortably.

‘Well responded by retaining the majority of possession, but without a real cutting edge – until they almost equalised through the most unlikely source. A Tom Hateley corner was headed away as far as Stephen Craigan on the edge of the box and the Steelmen captain smashed a half-volley narrowly over the bar with Cerny scrambling. The Northern Irishman will have to wait to end his near-five-year wait for a goal for Motherwell.

The home side were next to threaten as Dougie Imrie lashed a shot in from all of 30 yards which had to be extremely well saved by the sprawling Darren Randolph. That was immediately followed by a headed chance for the Accies as Flavio Paixao found Gary McDonald at the back-post, but the former Aberdeen man could only head wide.

Imrie was evidently Hamilton’s danger man, and he was involved in another dangerous moment as Billy Reid’s men attempted to pinch the lead before the break. The former Caley midfielder swung in a lovely cross for Flavio Paixao, but the Portuguese headed just over the bar. By this point Imrie was buzzing with confidence, and he tested Randolph again with a free-kick from distance which the big English stopper had to tip over the bar.

A Mensing header, from a Paixao corner, which drifted just wide proved to be the last action of a half in which Motherwell enjoyed plenty of the ball but, in truth, could have gone in behind on the balance of chances.

Both side traded chances early in the second half as they looked to garner an advantage from an even contest. ‘Well were first to threaten as a swift counter attack involving Gow and Blackman culminated in the on-loan Englishman firing a ferocious shot just over the bar.

Flavio Paixao and Jordan Kirkpatrick responded with shots of their own, as both players fired off target in quick succession from decent positions just outside the area.

As the game, once again, descended into a midfield battle it was becoming apparent that one goal could be enough to win it, and Accies came close to snatching the opener with just over 20 minutes left on the clock. Some industrious work on the left by Imrie, again, saw the ball delivered temptingly to the far post where Jim Goodwin arrived late to smash the ball across the face of goal, but thankfully for Motherwell there were no hooped jerseys to turn the ball home and Stevie Hammell scrambled clear.

Minutes later Hamilton has Tomas Cerny to thank for keeping the game scoreless. Jamie Murphy skipped past a rash challenge on the right and flashed a superb ball into the six-yard box where a scrambled combination of John Sutton and Cerny saw the ball squirm over the bar.

With time running out and tensions running high, Dougie Imrie should have secured the points for Hamilton with four minutes left. The gifted midfielder latched onto a hopeful through-ball, and with the ‘Well defence toiling he lashed inches wide of Randolph’s right-hand post.

[tab:As it happened]

90+3mins – FT Accies 0 – 0 Well. A late Imrie shot wide provides heart stopping moment, but the spoils are shared

73mins – Another chance for Craigan. Header from a corner this time but it dropped just over,

70mins – Oooffftt, Motherwell almost take the lead. Murph gets space on the right but his cross is saved, somehow, by Cerny.

68mins – Hateley booked!

66mins – Neither team really doing anything worth note. It’s been a poor, poor game.

55mins – Saunders has taken a knock and is replaced by Fitzpatrick. Hateley goes back into RB with Fiz in the middle of the park,

54mins – John Sutton on to replace Alan Gow.

53mins – Crowd announced as 3171! Large part of that is in the away section I’d guess!

52mins – Another shot from Kirkpatrick goes over. The youngster had much better options in the box too.

52mins – Another long range shot – this time from Kirkpatrick, ends up in the same spot as Paixao. Waaayyy over the bar!

51mins – Down the other end, Paixao has a shot from the edge that fizzes way over the bar.

50mins – Nice build-up and shot from Blackman but it goes way over the bar! Positive signs though…

46mins – Motherwell get the second half underway!

45+3mins – Half Time – Hamilton 0 – 0 Motherwell

45mins – Free-kick from Imrie forces Randolph to tip over. Not sure if it was going in but the big keeper was right to turn it over!

40mins – Nick Blackman has a shot from the edge of the box that almost takes down the scaffolding behind the goal.

37mins – Cross from Imrie (Hamilton’s danger man without doubt) is met by Paixao but his header drops over.

36mins – Jim Goodwin booked for persistent fouling. His third of the game so far…

35mins – Down the other end, Humphrey opened up space for Blackman but his low effort is well held by Cerny.

34mins – One minute later, Imrie again the creator. Teeing up Paixao who whipped in a cross for McDonald who nodded a header wide.

33mins – Motherwell are well on top but not creating. Accies almost hit against the run of play by Imrie’s shot is well saved by Randolph.

29mins – Stephen Craigan almost got his first goal for nearly 5 years but his shot dropped just wide of the post.

27mins – Paixao burst through only for Reynolds to mop up the danger at the expense of a corner. Eventually cleared by ‘Well though.

19mins – Long range shot from Gary McDonald is the first effort on target in the match. No trouble whatsoever for Randolph though.

15mins – Free-kick and a corner for the Steelmen but neither come to anything. Slow start indeed…

11mins – It’s been a slow start here at NDP! Neither team getting to grips with things… Has got colder though.

6mins – Gow had a half chance inside the area but just held on to the ball a bit too long! Great build-up play…

1min – Hamilton Kick Off!

Pre-match: Teams are out – great crowd over from Motherwell… Stuart McCall is getting a warm welcome!

Pre-match: The introducing of the match mascots was, well, emm, interesting. Finishing with the wee guy punching the big furry mascot. :-s

Pre-Match: Music at NDP is interesting… Like 1920’s swing! Strange…

Pre-Match: Teams head back into the Dressing Rooms for final prep as the Lanarkshire derby is just 10mins away! C’mon the Steelmen…

Pre-match: One change for Motherwell! Blackman in for Fitzpatrick!

Pre-match: Those 11 players have played a combined 1548 games for the club. Incredible!

Pre-match: Cracker for the Stat fans amongst you. Today’s match squad contains 11 players who have come through the Youth Ranks at Fir Park.

Pre-match: Jamie Murphy is also set to make his 100th SPL appearance for ‘Well too. Hopefully he can grab his 21st goal in the process.

Pre-match: Some points of interest… If he plays, Mark Reynolds will make his 200th appearance for Motherwell.

Pre-match: Remember, the full ninety minutes is on BBC Alba later tonight (5.30pm on Sky channel 168). Let’s hope it’s worth watching eh?

Pre-match: The SPL delegate has just arrived and is doing his pre-match inspections. It’s a cool, cloudy day here in Lanarkshire…

Pre-match: We’ve arrived at New Douglas Park for the first game of 2011. Given the weather in the last few weeks, the pitch is in good nick.

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

“It was a fair result; you take positives, a clean sheet, but we can be better and we will be better.

“I would’ve been a little bit happier if we had created a bit more and we’ll work on that this week.

“We can improve, there’s no doubt about that. I was quite happy with the way we started the game. We probably controlled most of the first half. Having said that, we didn’t create enough. They had a couple of chances. I thought we played some nice stuff at times.

“In the second half, we didn’t seem to get going. They had a few shots from long range.

“I’ve managed to see the last three games. For the players we’ve got middle-to-front, we’ve not created enough chances in recent games, albeit apart from today against the top three sides.

“It’s a point, it’s something to build on.”

Hamilton manager Billy Reid:

“Over the 90 minutes, I can’t argue with a draw. If anyone was going to win it, it was going to be Hamilton. We had more shots on goal, more chances. We more than matched Motherwell all over the park.

“At the moment, we’re unfortunate to not score a goal. The ball doesn’t seem to be going in the net at the moment. We had plenty of chances, the ball was dropping and still not going in,” added Reid.

“Dougie Imrie’s had a chance one-on-one at the end, he’s hit it just by the post, it’s the way it’s gone for us.

“There were plenty of positives for me. Defensively, we’re now shutting up shop, we’re looking a lot more solid. There’s nothing in the games, if we can just turn them into victories then things will turn.”

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”26″]

Score a bargain break with Thomas Cook’s Motherwell FC Holiday Club as we double the savings this January.

Make the most out of supporting your team and receive an incredible 10%* discount on any trip you make by mentioning the Motherwell FC Holiday Club when making your booking at your local Thomas Cook holiday shop.

This way, not only do you save money but you also help your club profit from it, as the club earns a royalty from every booking made.

Managers, players, staff and fans are all enjoying the benefits of the Motherwell FC Holiday Club. So if you have a business trip ahead or you just want to go somewhere sunny, remember to book with Thomas Cook Sport’s Holiday Club!

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said: “After a passionate and intense season, the best way to wind down a bit is by having an enjoyable holiday. And what a better way to do so than by helping out the club, and also receiving a discount for it”

*Available until 31st January 2011