Motherwell

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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.

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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell told BBC Scotland: "I would love to be standing here with three points. The opportunities created and saved made by Ross Laidlaw suggest we did deserve to win the game.

"The most important thing was a better performance than last week, which we got in application, energy and desire to win the game. That said, we still feel there's loads of room for improvement.

"Without question we have to be better in the final third. A real positive is how assured we were in our defending throughout. It's always difficult against Jordan White but we acquitted ourselves well.

"You find problems throughout the course of the season. The bit that is staring us in the face is that we created enough chances to score, but we didn't."

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Aston Oxborough. The 6'5" stopper has had to bide his time to make his Premiership debut, sitting on the bench for the last two seasons before Liam Kelly's departure.

The good news for Motherwell is they don't need to go to the transfer market for Kelly's replacement as they've had him all along.

The big stopper didn't have a great deal to do but when he was called into action, he made a few big saves and generally offered a commanding presence at the back.

Motherwell: Oxborough; O'Donnell, Casey, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Zdravkovski, Halliday, Miller, Robinson, Ebiye.

Substitutes: Hegyi, Seddon, Balmer, Sparrow, Stamatelopoulos, McGinn, Callachan, Kaleta, Wells.

Ross County: Laidlaw; Brown, Leak, Wright, Nightingale, Harmon, Loturi, Randall, Grieves, Hale, White.

Substitutes: Hamilton, Chilvers, Denholm, Telfer, Efete, Samuel, Brophy, MacLeod, Reid.

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Stephen O'Donnell has spoken of his 'love' for local team Motherwell after breaking beyond 150 appearances for the club.

The 32-year-old hit the milestone against Clyde last Saturday in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.

"I came in at a strange time through Covid and I’ve loved it," O'Donnell reflected. 'I’ve had some lows and spells where things haven’t been going great.

"But the thing that hasn’t changed the whole time is my passion and the care to help make this club better and hopefully be a part of that.

"That’s what I hope to be this season, part of a positive season for Motherwell because I can see the impact it has on people around you.

"You can see just when any team does well, the positive impact that it has in the local area. It’s staggering.

"It makes it easier for me walking about when I’m not getting booed!

As Motherwell's new vice-captain, O'Donnell donned the captain's armband for the landmark Clyde fixture as skipper Paul McGinn was kept on the bench.

"It’s obviously nice to to be given it," the Scotland international added. "It does tend to show a trust, or at least a respect, from a manager of my personality and my history here.

"It’s nothing but a positive and hopefully I can play a positive part in a a positive season.

"I think what’s massive is you try not to allow a couple of bad results to turn into big spells, and that’s what happened last season. I think that’s what cost us."

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Motherwell youngster Lennon Miller insisted last season's exposure to first team football has allowed him to 'become a man'.

The 17-year-old, who turns 18 in August, made 32 appearances for Stuart Kettlewell's side last season despite missing two months with injury.

"Last year I was still a boy," Miller told Sky Sports. "This year I've come in in pre-season and I feel I've been more of a leader because I've had that year under my belt. This year, I want to be more creative than I was last year.

"Last year gave me the confidence that I was playing well. I was still shy and reserved but I feel I've come in and become a man.

"The experienced players have been brilliant, they've encouraged me to be a leader and given me the penalties and free-kicks. Hopefully I can get a few of them."

His only goal last season came in Motherwell's opening League Cup group stage game against Elgin City, and he has already scored this season against Clyde.

"This season I want to add goals and assists to my name and hopefully as a team, we do well in the league.

"I played further forward in the Cup games there and I really enjoyed it. In training, I've been practicing my shooting after training and hopefully it's a position I can get into the box more so it comes more naturally."

The youngster also spoke about the rumours that have linked him with a move away from Fir Park.

"The transfer window will always come with rumours. For me, I just put it to one side. I really love it here at Motherwell, they've given me a platform to express myself. I'm looking to start the season well here.

"I've always wanted to play first-team football and Motherwell have given me that opportunity when I was young. I want to show them why they showed faith in me."

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• This will be the third time that Motherwell and Ross County have faced on matchday one of a top-flight season, after 2012-13 (0-0 draw) and 2020-21 (1-0 Ross County win).

• Motherwell have won both of their last two league meetings with Ross County while scoring five goals each time.

• Motherwell have won just once in the last seven league seasons on matchday one (D2 L4), beating St. Mirren 1-0 in 2022-23.

• Ross County have lost four of the five previous occasions that they have played away from home on matchday one of a top-flight season, the only exception being a 2-1 win at Dundee in 2017-18.

• Ross County only won one of their 19 away league games last season (D6 L12), failing to win any of their last 17 on the road (D6 L11). The last side to go 18 consecutive away games without a win in the Scottish top flight were Livingston from September 2018 to August 2019.

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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With the new Premiership season kicking off this weekend, BBC Sport Scotland have been taking a look at some new faces to keep an eye on.

Having cashed in on Theo Bair's surprise emergence as a goal machine in his one season after being freed by St Johnstone, Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has given himself plenty of chances to replace the Canada international following his departure to Auxerre.

Filip Stuparevic, the Serb previously of Slovenian club Domzale, Zach Robinson, who spent last season on loan to Dundee from Wimbledon, and Moses Ebiye, the Nigerian who arrived from Aalesunds in March, did not exactly hit the goal trail during the League Cup group stage.

He might have arrived too late to be handed a start against Ross County on Saturday, but new Australia cap and commentators' nightmare Apostolos Stamatelopoulos may be the long-term solution given his 17 goals in 25 appearances last season despite Newcastle Jets finishing a lowly 10th in the A-League.

In saying that, he failed to find the net once on his last European sojourn with Giannina in the Greek Super League.

Read the rest of Clive's piece here.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

The Motherwell manager has already laid down the law to his players before a ball of the league season has been kicked.

Stuart Kettlewell called their League Cup performance against Partick Thistle "awful" and "unacceptable", and didn’t shy away from telling his players as such. He was quick to chastise them in his post-match Radio Scotland interview, and no doubt like likewise in the Fir Park dressing room.

He spoke about his players standing off Thistle, allowing them to dominate large spells of the game, and he criticised a lack of energy and commitment from a group he was clearly expecting more from.

It may be a new league season on the horizon, but it’s the same old frustrations for the Motherwell boss. We heard similar complaints from Kettlewell last season and he’s demanding better already.

The Motherwell team that faced Partick Thistle had a new look to it. Only two players who were named in the starting XI started the final game of last season.

Several familiar names remain, but those new faces will now know what's expected of them at their new club. No doubt Kettlewell's stark warning of "performances like that will get you nothing in the Premiership", will still be ringing in their ears.

For his part, the manager will be hoping the message has well and truly landed. Ross County come to Lanarkshire for the opening day of the new league season. And they'll come full of confidence given their League Cup form. Many are tipping the Dingwall side to have a much improved season; Motherwell will be hoping any signs of that are delayed until after 17:45 on Saturday.

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Jim McMahon has officially resigned as Motherwell chairman after eight years in the role.

McMahon signalled his intention to step down in December 2023, and did so at a board meeting on Wednesday.

As part of the club's board, McMahon had endorsed working with the former Netflix vice-president Erik Barmack and his wife Courtney, before the American couple withdrew their offer of investment last month.

"Having attended my first Motherwell match in the 1950s and supported the club ever since, I am immensely proud to have served as the club chair for the last eight years," McMahon said in a statement.

"But as I announced at our AGM it is time for me to stand down from that role.

"I wish the new club chair and board every success in what will be an exciting next chapter for the club."

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Stuart Kettlewell wants more consistency from his Motherwell side this season as they look to recreate the good run they enjoyed at the start of last year.

The Steelmen won three of their first four games and sat in second place in the Premiership, but failed to win again until 30 December.

"We started the league campaign excellently, had a poor run in the middle, and then some good form after the turn of the year," Kettlewell told Sky Sports.

"For us, it's about finding that level of consistency. Anyone who does that in this league has an opportunity to play in the top half of the split come the end of the season.

"If you concentrate on that level of consistency, naturally the league position starts to take care of itself.

"We've proved we can compete with every single team in this league - we've taken points off everybody in my time - but it's about finding a consistency, not having big high moments with big fall offs."

The manager also admitted that avoiding relegation is still the primary aim for Motherwell, and added that that the squad's turnover has been a "challenge".

"Every club wants to be a part of this division moving forward," Kettlewell said. "Some may argue that's not a lofty height of ambition, but that's where your starting point always has to be.

"When you're a club that sits at the bottom end of the finances in this division, that always has to be the first port of call. But I absolutely do believe we've got the capabilities - as a football club and as a playing staff - to be slightly more consistent.

"There is a real challenge. I spoke to our supporters on Monday and said 'in an ideal world, all you want to do is bring one or two in' and have that consistent group. But we all know what it's like here at Motherwell.

"We've had a top-five transfer in our club's history in Theo Bair, and within that you lose Liam Kelly and Blair Spittal, really influential players, and some loan signings. There's a few more changes than what we want but it should bring excitement."

Motherwell agreed a £260,000 fee with Newcastle Jets to sign 25-year-old Australia forward Apostolos Stamatelopoulos on Tuesday. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.