Motherwell

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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The big positive for Stuart Kettlewell will be his team's spirited second-half showing. The obvious negative is the injury to summer signing Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.

The Australia international, making his first start since April, had a limited pre-season but impressed with his link-up play early in the game, playing a role in a golden first-half chance for Lennon Miller.

If the striker is to face any time on the sidelines, he will join an injury list that is getting out of hand.

His replacement, Zach Robinson, also caused problems for the Rangers defence, firstly slicing over from inside the area before forcing Jack Butland to make a fine stop low to his left in the second half.

The Motherwell forward line were guilty of passing up opportunities in last weekend's draw with Ross County, and the League Cup group game against Partick Thistle.

That is an issue Kettlewell will be desperate to address immediately, given his side have now failed to score in their past three games.

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Robin Propper could make his Rangers debut while attacker Oscar Cortes will be out for around a month after picking up a knee injury against Hearts last week.

Nicolas Raskin is still out through injury and new signing Hamza Igamane continues to work his way towards the level of fitness required by boss Philippe Clement.

Motherwell will be without eight players if Lennon Miller fails to shake off a knock. Shane Blaney, Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson (all knee), Ross Callachan, Filip Stuparevic (both hamstring), Harry Paton (ankle) and John Koutroumbis (calf) are all missing.

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Liam Gordon wants to replicate Theo Bair's success story at Fir Park after following the Canada striker's path from St Johnstone to Motherwell.

Bair joined the Steelmen on a free transfer last summer and went on to score 15 goals in claret and amber before sealing a big-money move to Auxerre in July.

Defender Gordon spoke to Bair - and another former team-mate in Sam Nicholson - before his move and believes he can develop under manager Stuart Kettlewell.

"I'm really enjoying it. A great group of guys who made it very welcoming for me coming in," Gordon said.

"It's good coming and seeing a club run differently. I really like what they've done behind the scenes.

"It was a big part of me coming here, I like their ambition, their ideas for the future and it's something that I just really see myself being part of.

"Theo became a much better player here and that was one of the main points for me. I felt that by me coming here I can improve as a player and as a person.

"As a footballer, that's what you want to do. You want to get better every day, don't you?

"And I can see myself getting better under the manager and with this playing squad."

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• Rangers lost their last home league game against Motherwell 2-1 in March last season, ending a 38-game unbeaten run in the league at home to the Steelmen (W31 D7). They have never suffered successive such defeats, with this their 139th such meeting.

• Motherwell's victory at Ibrox in March ended a 57-game winless run against Rangers in the league (D15 L42). The Steelmen last won back-to-back league games against Rangers in April 1960.

• Rangers have won their opening home league game in each of the last six seasons by an aggregate score of 20-1 since a 3-2 defeat to Hibernian in 2017-18.

• Motherwell have only won their first away league match in one of the last seven seasons (D3 L3), beating St Mirren 1-0 in 2022-23.

• Having drawn 0-0 with Hearts in their opening league game of 2024-25, Rangers are looking to avoid failing to win either of their opening two games in a season since 1989-90 under Graeme Souness.

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Stuart Kettlewell says Motherwell are "meticulous" in injury prevention work as he strives to cope with a mounting casualty list.

The Motherwell boss will be without seven players – and Lennon Miller is also a doubt – for Saturday’s trip to face Rangers at Hampden.

Shane Blaney and Ross Callachan are the latest absentees, joining Filip Stuparevic, Sam Nicholson, Harry Paton, Callum Slattery and John Koutroumbis.

Kettlewell said: "We've had it through pre-season, we've had it for large chunks last season and the question that will come from yourselves, I had it from someone yesterday, is if we don't delve into the exact kind of loading and what we do in training sessions.

"I can assure you that we're as meticulous with that side of things as we possibly can be.

"Some of the injuries are from impacts, completely unavoidable, and we're trying to limit time on the pitch for some players to make sure that they're fit and they're able to play in games on a Saturday.

"It gets to the point almost for me just now where we can't really train much less than what we are to prepare our players for playing a game of football on a Saturday. So it's been a really difficult juggling act."

Kettlewell, who has made 11 summer signings, would like to add "one or two" more but admits “we're going to have to be pretty creative to do that”.

Callachan, who played his first game in 16 months last Saturday, suffered a "bad" hamstring injury in training while Blaney faces up to six weeks out with a knee problem.

"Ross pulled up with a hamstring injury and the severity of it looks bad enough that it's going to keep him out for a period of time again,” Kettlewell added.

"Shane's one of the most robust guys in the team, and as soon as he put his hand up on Saturday, then I knew that there was something significant there, and we've had him scanned and that's exactly the case."

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Motherwell’s Premiership fixture against Hearts at Fir Park has been rescheduled for Sunday, 25 August at 15:00 BST.

The game has moved back 24 hours because Hearts are in Europa League play-off action on Thursday, 22 August.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

There can be no doubt Motherwell put in a much-improved performance against Ross County compared to the previous weekend.

There was more creativity on show, more energy and a real desire to get forward, but end product was still lacking. A complaint often heard last season.

Of course Theo Bair is big boots to fill, his 15 league goals from 38 league appearances will be a miss.

After the weekend’s goalless draw, Stuart Kettlewell said his new recruits were still bedding in.

One player the club seem to be pinning much hope on is Australian striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos. Football commentators across the land might be having sleepless nights at the thought of pronouncing his name, but Motherwell will be hoping it’s soon tripping off the tongue.

The Fir Park club will be keen he finds the kind of form he showed between February 2021 and July 2022 when, while playing for Newcastle Jets in Australia’s A-League, he scored 20 goals in 37 appearances. Similar stats to Bair, Motherwell will be after a similar impact too.

It’s a fair amount of pressure to heap on one player, but the 25-year-old will be eager to prove to his new fanbase that he can hit those sort of numbers again.

In trying to give his players more minutes, Kettlewell took his squad south for a friendly with Everton yesterday. It may have given some players a runout, but it can't have done much for confidence as they were thumped 6-0.

Motherwell will be hoping it’s not been too damaging on the morale as they head to Hampden this Saturday for a league meeting with Rangers.

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Lennon Miller is the latest player to be added to a long list of injury concerns for Stuart Kettlewell as Motherwell face being without eight players against Rangers.

The teenage midfielder is a doubt for the trip to Hampden on Saturday after being substituted with a lower leg injury in the goalless draw with Ross County.

Shane Blaney also picked up a knock in the side's league opener and Motherwell have confirmed he will be out for the weekend, along with Ross Callachan, Sam Nicholson, Harry Paton, Callum Slattery, Johnny Koutroumbis and Filip Stuparevic.

Summer signing Callachan made his first appearance for 16 months off the bench against his former club but is now set for more time on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Stuparevic has a hamstring injury and Nicholson, Paton, Slattery and Koutroumbis all feature on a long-term absentee list.

The Fir Park side lost 6-0 in a friendly with Everton on Tuesday.

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Motherwell were thrashed 6-0 by Premier League side Everton in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday.

Portuguese striker Beto opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark before a second-half collapse from the Scottish side, who conceded three goals in four minutes after the break.

Jake O'Brien, the £16m summer signing, powered in the second, with youngster Harrison Armstrong and Neal Maupay adding quickfire strikes.

Forward duo Maupay and Beto completed braces in the closing stages to round off the rout.

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

I was hoping I’d at least make it until September before I had to write my first critical column, but here we are.

Motherwell were a colossal let down on Saturday.

We are not pressing enough up front and it is painful to watch. We can’t keep signing attacking players that fall flat when they’re called into action.

Our midfield is lacklustre and has no creativity. The only players that can get some sort of praise are Andy Halliday and Lennon Miller, even if Halliday can only last 60 minutes on a good day. Normally Miller is a consistent 8/10 player, and I hardly ever have anything negative to say, but he was non-existent on Saturday.

I don’t know if the pressure of being so young but so vital to the team is maybe taking its toll on him, or if the rumours about teams being interested in him is impacting his confidence, but he was not his usual self at all.

With every error made I could visualise the zeros being deducted from his potential selling price.

The one saving grace in the game was Aston Oxborough. Watching a 'keeper command his box and defend set pieces so well was a breath of fresh air. Basics in goalkeepin,g but after watching a season of Liam Kelly struggle to even pass the ball up the pitch, it was a welcome sight.

He still has to work on his distribution but overall, I am hugely impressed and wish he would have got more game time last season especially after Kelly was struggling for so long.

Going into our game against Rangers although they have been poor, I still don’t fancy our chances unless we park the bus and defend through our teeth for a 0-0 draw.

I will happily eat my words if we leave Hampden with three points and three goals for the Steelmen and we can pretend this piece never existed as we will be the best team in Scotland and the best league winners...

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Motherwell winger Sam Nicholson will be out for several months after picking up a knee injury.

The 29-year-old was returning to full fitness having suffered a separate issue in pre-season, but has damaged his patella and now faces a long spell on the sidelines

"This is a really frustrating situation for both club and player," manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

"I've spoken with Sam and will ensure he is full supported during this lay off. He is gutted that he is having to miss more games after working so hard to get back fit.

"From a club point of view, it’s another blow. Our injury list isn’t getting shorter and we’ve now got one less option in the forward areas. We’ll look to see if we can bring in some fresh blood to try and cope with the situation."

Watch the best of the action from the opening-day stalemate at Fir Park. (Available to UK users only)

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Motherwell goalkeeper Aston Oxborough is relishing the challenge of trying to nail down the number one spot.

The 26-year-old made his Premiership debut in Saturday's opener against Ross County after spending the last two seasons as understudy to Liam Kelly, who left this summer to join Rangers.

"It's tough obviously, but this is my third season now and I learned a lot from Liam and watching him, so hopefully I can use that this season," said Oxborough after the 0-0 draw.

"That's the goal [to be number one]. Obviously I’ve got Krisztian Hegyi alongside me alongside me, who's fighting fighting for the position as well, so the competition is good.

"Being a goalkeeper is unique but we get on well.

"It happens your whole career, sometimes you’re number one, sometimes number two, sometimes number three.

"It can be frustrating but you are used to it."

We asked for your views after Motherwell's opening-day draw at home to Ross County.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Jaffa: Going to be another long, hard rollercoaster season, it wouldn't be Motherwell to expect anything else. Absolutely no goal threat last couple of games, who knows what will happen rest of the season.

Anon: We seem to regress each season. I think the supporter-owned team has shown up as a non-starter. We do not have a big enough squad. We need investors with money to put in to club to buy players.

Kevin: We made some chances but the football was a terrible watch, players struggling to pass to their own team-mates and too easy pushed off the ball. A long, hard season ahead. We need some guile in midfield which we only have with Sam Nicholson.

Andrew: Same limp excuses already, two points down the drain already, disgraceful League Cup campaign. We have appointed a club captain that sits on the bench, we're far too reliant on wing-backs. Same old, same old. We badly need a decent midfielder. We've made questionable summer signings. It's going to be a long, hard season.

Kenny: Well we were better than in the League Cup games but in fairness that wasn’t a high bar to reach. Zach Robinson and Moses Ebiye looked a good combo up front but definitely lacked sharpness and hopefully this will come. This will have to come very soon as a decent start is imperative so we can build some momentum.

Stuart: A much improved performance, we created a few chances and probably should have won the game. Just need to find the cutting edge.

Motherwell will not entertain offers of less than their record sale of £2.6m - for David Turnbull to Celtic in 2020 - for fellow midfielder Lennon Miller, with the 17-year-old being monitored by a host of clubs including Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. (Transfermarkt), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

What did you make of that Motherwell fans? Happy with how you've started your season, or do you think it should have been all three points?

Is there somewhere you think Stuart Kettlewell should try and strengthen before the transfer window shuts?

Let us know your thoughts., external

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

Stuart Kettlewell wasn’t a happy man last weekend when his side drew with Patrick Thistle in the League Cup - and he was quite right.

His side struggled to create that day, but he’d have been happier today - even if they didn’t finish their chances. Of the 12 shots, only three were on target and they lacked a cutting edge up top.

That’s not been the case at Fir Park in recent years. Kevin van Veen would have buried those in years gone by, as would Theo Bair last season.

New striker Apostolos Stamatelopolous has big boots to fill, and Kettlewell will be hoping he is soon fit enough to start.