Motherwell: Guide to 2015-16 season

By Adam Higgins
Jul 26, 2015
5 min read

A profile of Motherwell FC as part of a comprehensive guide to the 12 top-flight teams ahead of the 2015-16 Scottish Premiership season.

A brief European adventure, three managers and a fight to preserve their Premiership status, last season provided a taxing experience that Motherwell's supporters have seldom been accustomed to in recent years.

After five years of stability and progress under Stuart McCall's stewardship which included a Scottish Cup final appearance, three successive years in the top three and back-to-back second-place finishes, the Scotland coach tendered his resignation last November having admitted he could not find a solution to the side's poor start to 2014-15 which brought nine defeats from their first 12 league games.

Kenny Black's four-game caretaker spell yielded just one win - a debut victory over Dundee United - before the Fir Park side turned to ex-Scunthorpe boss Ian Baraclough, following an extensive application process, as their new permanent manager in mid-December.

The difficult campaign picked up somewhat in March following emphatic home wins over rivals Hamilton and relegated St Mirren.

But improved form could not prevent the Steelmen from finishing second-bottom, consigning them to the relegation play-off, when ruthless counter attacking and clinical finishing saw them thrash Rangers 6-1 on aggregate to extend their 30-year stay in the top-flight.

It was the first time 'Well finished in the SPL's bottom half since 2008-09 but, despite another huge squad turnover and boardroom changes, Baraclough will be desperate to avoid a repeat with a return to the top half the minimum requirement expected as he embarks on his first full campaign in north Lanarkshire.

LADBROKES SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP TEAMS FOR THIS SEASON:

Aberdeen

Celtic

Dundee

Dundee United

Hamilton Academical

Heart of Midlothian

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Kilmarnock

MOTHERWELL

Partick Thistle

Ross County

St Johnstone

MOTHERWELL:

Plying his trade: The 44-year-old won three trophies in two years with Irish club Sligo Rovers and spent six months as Scunthorpe boss (Picture from Sky Sports)

Manager: Ian Baraclough Assistant Manager: Steve Robinson Captain: Keith Lasley (Midfielder) Chairman: Vacant at present Star Player: Lionel Ainsworth (Forward) 2014-15 player of the season: John Sutton (Striker)

Skipper: The 35-year-old midfielder has made over 400 appearances for the Steelmen over two spells and has a contract until summer 2016 (Picture from Sky Sports)

Stadium: Fir Park Capacity: 13,677 2014-15 Average Attendance: 4,176 This is the sixth largest stadium currently in the Scottish Premiership

Last season's league finish: 11th (Won 10, Drawn 6, Lost 22 - 36 points) Last season's goals for/against: 38/63

Unbeaten streak: Motherwell lost just one of their final 10 games in front of their own supporters at Fir Park last term (Picture from BT Sport)

Discipline record in league (2014-15): 63 yellow cards, 10 red cards Last season's disciplinarian (2014-15): Fraser Kerr (1 yellow, 2 reds) First three fixtures (2015-16): Saturday 1 August v Inverness CT (A), Saturday 8 August v Dundee United (H), Wednesday 12 August v Hearts (A)

On the box: Motherwell's first televised game of the new season is against the champions at Fir Park in mid-October (Picture from Sky Sports)

Other key fixtures (2015-16): 15 August v Aberdeen (H), 19 September v Hamilton (A), 17 October v Celtic (H), 7 November v Inverness CT (H), 28 November v Hearts (H), 19 December v Celtic (A), 26 December v Dundee Utd (A), 30 December v St Johnstone (H), 2 January v Hamilton (H), 27 February v Partick Thistle (H), 2 March v Hamilton (A), 19 March v Aberdeen (H), 9 April v Celtic (H)

Live TV games (confirmed): 17 October v Celtic (H), KO 12pm, BT Sport 2

Lack of discipline: No top-flight team were shown more red cards than Motherwell (10) with defender Kerr seeing red against Kilmarnock and Rangers (Pic from Sky Sports)

Biggest league win of last season: 7 April 2015 - 5-0 win v St Mirren (H) Biggest league defeat of last season: 1 January 2015 - 5-0 defeat v Hamilton (A) Best moment (2014-15): Securing their top-flight status with emphatic play-off victory over Rangers Worst moment (2014-15): Seven losses in eight at start of 2015 and poor record against rivals Hamilton

We are staying up: Motherwell's players celebrate their play-off success against Rangers at Fir Park at the end of May (Picture from BT Sport)

Top league goalscorer (2014-15): John Sutton - 13 goals Top overall goalscorer (2014-15): John Sutton - 13 goals Most league assists (2014-15): Lionel Ainsworth - 8 assists Most league appearances last season: Stephen McManus (38 starts, 0 sub apps)

Ever-present: The former Celtic and Scotland centre-back, 32, featured in all of Motherwell's league games last season (Picture from BT Sport)

Best signing (summer 2015): Louis Moult (from Wrexham, undisclosed fee) Key player (2015-16): Marvin Johnson Record signing: John Spencer (£500,000 buy from Everton in July 1999)

Last season's Scottish Communities League Cup finish: Third round (lost on penalties to Hamilton) Last season's William Hill Scottish Cup finish: Fourth round (lost 2-1 to Dundee United at Fir Park)

Gone but not forgotten: The 51-year-old resigned in November but returned to Fir Park later in the season as Rangers manager (Picture from Sky Sports)

Squad list:

2 Craig Reid (RB/CB), 3 Steven Hammell (LB), 5 Louis Laing (CB), 6 Stephen McManus (CB), 7 Lionel Ainsworth (RW/LW), 8 Stephen Pearson (CM), 9 Wes Fletcher (ST), 11 Marvin Johnson (LW), 12 Dan Twardzik (GK), 14 Keith Lasley (CDM), 15 Joe Chalmers (LB), 18 Josh Law (RB/CAM), 19 David Clarkson (ST), 20 Louis Moult (ST), 21 Jack Leitch (CM), 23 Dominic Thomas (RW/LW), 26 Chris Cadden (CM), 27 David Ferguson (CB/LB), 28 Luke Watt (CB), 34 Ross MacLean (CAM), Kieran Kennedy (CB), Scott McDonald (ST), Connor Ripley (GK).

Possible line-up:

Players out:

Iain Vigurs (released) Paul Lawson (released) George Long (to Sheffield United, end of loan spell) John Sutton (to St Johnstone, free transfer) Stuart Carswell (to St Mirren, free transfer) Simon Ramsden (to Gateshead, free transfer) Mark O'Brien (to Luton Town, free transfer) Bob McHugh (to Falkirk, free transfer) Zaine Francis-Angol (released) Lee Erwin (to Leeds United, £500,000) Fraser Kerr (released) Ross Stewart (to Albion Rovers, free transfer) Anthony Straker (to York City, end of loan spell) Nathan Thomas (to Mansfield Town, free transfer) Conor Grant (to Everton, end of loan spell) Craig Moore (to Ayr United, six-month loan)

Return: The ex-Celtic striker, 31, has signed new terms with the Steelmen after re-joining the club in February following an eight-year exile (Picture from BT Sport)

Transfers in:

Louis Moult (from Wrexham, undisclosed fee) Scott McDonald (unattached, free transfer) Wes Fletcher (from York City, free transfer) David Clarkson (from Dundee, free transfer) Joe Chalmers (from Celtic, free transfer) Louis Laing (from Nottingham Forest, free transfer) Kieran Kennedy (from Leicester City, free transfer) Connor Ripley (from Middlesbrough, six-month loan)