Motherwell

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou has been speaking with the media before the Premiership trip to face Hibernian on Saturday.

Here are the key points:

• On being linked with other clubs given the success he has enjoyed with Motherwell, Askou says: "It's natural. Sometimes you get linked with getting sacked if you're not winning enough games. We take all the good attention that comes from us doing well."

• When asked if he could offer reassurance to supporters over his future, the Dane says: "I'm extremely happy to be here. I'm like everyone else here, really enjoying what we're doing and want to see how far we can take it."

• Impressive midfielder Elliot Watt is an injury concern and being assessed, with Askou unable to confirm whether that is potentially long term or not at this stage.

• With fourth-place Motherwell two points ahead of Hibs, Askou describes the visit to Easter Road as a "really big game" with "two sides with a lot of momentum".

• The Dane plays down the prospect of a Motherwell title challenge, saying it's "basically impossible" because of the financial gap with the biggest clubs.

• He adds: "For us, it's about getting as high up that league table as possible. Our first big aim is to make sure that after 33 games we're in top six. From there, we want to reach out after as much as possible. We are extremely ambitious."

• He expects some January transfer business but not too much with more focus on retaining his squad and seeing if they can add.

We asked for your views on what business Motherwell should do in the January transfer window.

Here's what some of you said:

Mark: I think we need to start with getting rid of the deadwood, which there isn't much of. As much as we are doing really well we still miss that key out-and-out goalscorer. If we can afford it from the Lennon Miller money, a £750k-plus striker would lift us from fourth to potentially second place.

Kevin: I'd be amazed if most supporters don't say a decent number nine. I'd like to see us sign two strikers, a big physical striker good on the deck, as well as a penalty box striker. Our squad other than that looks as good as it has been for a while. One of St Mirren's big strikers wouldn't go wrong, James Wilson at Hearts might be another good investment long term.

George: A pleasant change when us fans we aren't crying for major surgery! Clearly a more regular goalscoring striker is a signing priority. The key to our season will however be keeping hold of prime talents like our manager himself, plus Elijah Just and Tawanda Maswanhise, as clubs cast envious eyes toward them, while hoping Celtic leave Stephen Welsh with us. Otherwise, all good at Fir Park!

James: Without a doubt a striker would be ideal to finish off all the great football made from midfield and defence.

Susan: Obviously we would benefit from a dedicated striker, but quite honestly if we come out of this window with the current team and manager all still at the club and doing what they're doing already, I'll be happy.

Laurie: Motherwell already have a good selection of players, however, I would like to see an established striker with more physical strength as a point man. I feel that the team are bossed off the ball in the final third and not able to convert our opportunities into more goals. We are strong in all other areas of the team.

Motherwell are enjoying a magnificent season under Jens Berthel Askou and appear to be going from strength to strength.

There have not been any incomings or outgoings yet, but which areas of Askou's squad do you think could be improved in the January transfer window?

Send us your thoughts.

Motherwell deserve all the plaudits they are receiving this season, says Hibernian midfielder Jamie McGrath. (Edinburgh Evening news - subscription required), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

It is safe to say Motherwell are full of new year cheer.

With a dazzling win over Celtic - beating the Parkhead club for the first time in a decade - in late 2025 followed by a revenge victory over St Mirren, it doesn't get much better.

To be sitting in fourth, only only two points away from both Old Firm teams, is a sentence I never thought I would speak outside of the first few weeks of the season.

Not only are our results good but our attendances have grown significantly for both home and away games.

Rangers away on 27 December was a sellout and the trip to face Hibs on Saturday is the same. That is an achievement for our club.

Having stayed in Motherwell my full 23 years on this planet I know all too well there are many residents that choose one of the Glasgow two over us. Now we are doing well and making people pay attention, I'm hoping we can steal the limelight off them for longer.

This has been the most enjoyable season I've ever had supporting Motherwell. If we can swat away any interest in Jens Berthel Askou we will be lucky.

I love what he has done for this club, but his transformative work since taking charge last summer means I wouldn't be surprised if other clubs start trying to turn his head.

Image source, SNS

Paul McGinn (Motherwell): Another huge display from an unsung hero. The captain and was sure footed once again as the Steelmen recorded another clean sheet on the way to three points.

Elijah Just (Motherwell): Always a pleasure to see an elegant and classy midfielder perform so consistently and effectively in the 100mph hurly-burly of Scottish football. The New Zealander is the sort of player fans enjoy watching as he has the capability to produce special moments, the assist for Motherwell's first against St Mirren a perfect example.

Elliot Watt (Motherwell): What a signing he has been. Making it all tick right now at the heart of this Motherwell side. Can understand why Rangers are reportedly interested in him. A stunning goal in Saturday's 2-0 win.

Tawanda Maswanhise (Motherwell): Scored a terrific goal against South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations and continued his magnificent form with a goal and an assist against St Mirren. What a player Motherwell have on their hands. You feel the major business Motherwell need to make in this transfer window is holding on to their star players, and the Zimbabwean is certainly one of them.

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Motherwell "will battle it out" with Hibernian for fourth place and European football, former captain Stephen Craigan has predicted.

The ex-Northern Ireland centre-half was waxing lyrical on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound about the impact of manager Jens Berthel Askou since the Dane arrived from IFK Gothenburg in the summer.

The "brilliant story" continued with Saturday's 2-0 win over St Mirren that keeps Well fourth in the table.

"There are so many stats," Craigan said. "Lost one in 13. They have 11 clean sheets. They have the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 16 goals, yet people say they play the most attacking, open football.

"So you can see it is not just about that. They have conceded one goal in their last nine league games.

"They are averaging 59% possession. This is unheard of from any team outside of the Old Firm."

Craigan has watched Askou's side improve since early in the season.

"It was possession without real purpose," he recalled. "They lacked a cutting edge. But, slowly but surely, they have found a way to goal and a way to dominate games.

"They have changed ever so slightly. What I noticed against Celtic and what I noticed against St Mirren yesterday - it's not all about playing in front."

Observers outside Scotland took notice after the midweek win over the reigning champions, with Craigan pointing out they did not play with a traditional centre-half or a traditional striker.

"He is happy to mix it up and they are a joy to watch," he said.

Askou has "united everybody" at the club behind his tactics, with nearly 8,000 in attendance against St Mirren - compared to just under 5,000 for a similar fixture last year.

Asked if Well could even mount a challenge at the top, Craigan added: "Title race, not for the me at the minute.

"Hibs will have grander ambitions of catching the top three, but I don't think they will. If Motherwell can end the season with European football, it will have been a magnificent season."

Askou's side travel to Hibs on Saturday, with a packed Easter Road expected to watch on.

Watch highlights as in-form Motherwell dispatch St Mirren in a comfortable Scottish Premiership victory.

Available in UK only

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Jens Berthel Askou has revealed he has spoken with Elliot Watt about reports claiming Rangers are interested in the in-form midfielder and the Motherwell manager is relaxed about any potential bids for the Preston-born 25-year-old.

The former Scotland youth international scored his fifth goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 win over St Mirren as he continues to impress after his summer switch from Burton Albion.

"I have had many conversations with Elliot about all sorts of things and this is also one of them," Askou said. "I think he's thriving with it.

"He's the same person and just enjoying life as a footballer right now. Big credit to him, he's a fantastic player. He's done so well like so many others.

"And, obviously, when you do well over time, attention will come from many places. That is something we will have to live with and deal with in the best possible way, use it as a positive thing and then keep driving."

Askou does not expect a glut of new players to arrive at Fir Park this month.

"No, it's not like there's a queue outside," he added. "But it is something we're working on in the background.

"It's a window, we're not going to open it up massively because it's freezing outside in January, so just a little bit and then we'll see if one or two slip through one way or another."

We asked for your thoughts following Motherwell's 2-0 win at home to St Mirren. Here is a flavour of Well fans' views...

Alan: Another scintillating performance from this ever improving team. Their quiet run up the league has been a joy to watch. Who knows where it might end but all the Motherwell staff should feel proud.

Big Al: Another outstanding display of football, despite playing against a St Mirren team set out to break up play and stop the flow of football. As well as an attention-seeking referee who wanted the game to be all about him. I really hope Jens stays at Motherwell when they play in Europe at what ever stage they make.

Robert: Another excellent performance. We are becoming better at converting chances and, up to now, our style is still causing teams problems. I like the manager's low-key approach. No fuss and a real learning culture. Let's hope we continue in this vein of form for a long time to come!

Donald: It's a pleasure to watch this Motherwell team. For the first time in many years they are playing open expansive football, without fear. The best 'Well side since the '70s. Long may it continue.

Ian: Another win. Another clean sheet. Another three points. Revenge over St Mirren. Fourth in the league. Will take that over winning the League Cup any day.

Frazer: If we beat Hibs away next week I think we have a slim chance of being in the title race, never thought those words would ever come out my mouth.

Gary: 7,000 Well fans today says it all. We are a joy to watch under Askou. No way will we win the league and fourth the realistic aim but it's great entertainment.

James: The superb football continues. Actually expecting to win every game now. Too many good performances to single anyone out, but SOD is playing like Cafu! An absolute joy to watch. COYW.

High-flying Motherwell sit two points behind Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Premiership with a comfortable win against struggling St Mirren.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou: "Extremely good, just as good as the one the other day and maybe a little bit better because we've had some trouble with St Mirren so it was a sweet feeling to get our revenge.

"I have to give all the credit to the players out there. They produced a lot of great moments, two beautiful goals and chances for more while we were extremely focused in defence, won a lot of duels and second balls in some critical areas.

"We're not just in it two get a sexy win somewhere, lean back and say well done. We're here to have a fantastic season and then when it's done we'll have a little break and see if we can do even better next year. We want to win, we wanted to get the maximum out of the game today.

"The players are so eager to get out and play they don't even think about whether it's been one week or two or three days ago. They'll be a little bit irritated that they have to wait until next Saturday to play again.

"When they try to commit and jump at us, we know we can put a ball in behind and Tawanda is off. He was a constant threat, it was fantastic to have him back. It's not an easy finish, to be so composed to roll it between the legs of the goalkeeper as if he's never done anything else in his entire life. He makes things look easy and the way we were able to use his qualities today was fantastic.

"St Mirren are fantastic at suddenly turning a game around so I was hoping for us to score a third goal but it was great to see that goal from Elliot to go in. We invested a lot in the game to get that second goal and finally we got it.

"There will probably be people around the country who think we are [in a title race]. It is not the conversation we are having at Motherwell. We are extremely ambitious, we want to see how far we can take it but right now after 21 games we are in a position few expected. I want us to stay in this position and who knows maybe we can reach out for even more."

Motherwell assistant manager Max Rogers believes Elliot Watt is mature enough to keep his focus solely on matters on the pitch after the 25-year-old midfielder was linked with Rangers. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Motherwell add Zimbabwe attacker Tawanda Maswanhise and on-loan Celtic defender Stephen Welsh following victory over the champions.

Regan Charles-Cook will miss eight weeks with an ankle injury.

Andy Halliday, Jordan McGhee and Aston Oxborough are closing in on returns while long-term absentees Filip Stuparevic (knee), Sam Nicholson (knee) and Zach Robinson (Achilles) remain out.

St Mirren have lost Jonah Ayunga (tendon) and Mark O'Hara (ankle) for two to three months, joining Keanu Baccus (hamstring tendon) on the sidelines.

Image source, SNS

• Motherwell are unbeaten in their past six league meetings with St Mirren (W2 D4), although the past two have been drawn; these two sides last played out three successive league stalemates in August 2012.

• St Mirren have enjoyed just one win in their past eight league visits to Motherwell (D3 L4), a 1-0 victory in September 2023.

• Motherwell have failed to win their opening league fixture in each of the past five calendar years (D2 L3) since a 1-0 victory over Aberdeen in 2020.

• St Mirren have only won their first Scottish Premiership match of a calendar year once since 2019 (D2 L4), beating Dundee United 2-1 in 2022.

• St Mirren have the lowest shot conversion rate in the Scottish Premiership this season (7.1 per cent) while only Celtic (-10.1) have underperformed their xG more than the Buddies (-5.7 – 16 goals from 21.7 xG).

Image source, SNS

Jens Berthel Askou is aiming for "a signature season" in his maiden campaign as Motherwell manager.

The Fir Park side defeated defending Scottish Premiership champions Celtic 2-0 on Tuesday evening - Motherwell's first win in the fixture since 2015.

"I've had the question before, do we need to get a signature win? Well, we're in it for a signature season," Askou said.

"It's three points and a clean sheet, like the 1-0 win against Dundee, just as important as that and just as big. We also had to fight really, really hard for that. That felt amazing that night when we scored at the end [against Dundee], and obviously it felt good on Tuesday.

"We have to distil all that positive attention we get now from everywhere, because that's not going to make us better. It feels good, but it's not going to make us better.

"We'll use that positive energy to work forward, because obviously we've had a tight programme and we have an extremely important game on Saturday [against St Mirren at Fir Park]."

Meanwhile, Eseosa Sule's loan spell from West Brom has ended, with the 19-year forward's appearances restricted to three by a thigh injury.

"We were very hopeful that when Eseosa came to us, we could nurture his talent with us," Askou said.

"Unfortunately, he had a setback with his injury that has robbed us and him of the opportunity to thrive here. We know there is talent there with Eseosa and he is a lovely young man who is full of positivity and optimism.

"I wish him the best for moving forward and strongly believe the future is bright for him."

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Experienced defender Paul McGinn has signed a new contract keeping him at Motherwell until the summer of 2027.

McGinn, 35, has made more than 100 appearances for the Fir Park side since 2022 and 545 club appearances overall. He was capped once by Scotland in 2021.

This term, the defender has helped Jens Berthel Askou's side up to fourth in the Scottish Premiership and through to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup.

Motherwell host St Mirren on Saturday, the side that defeated them at Hampden.

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Rangers are considering a move for Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt, 25. (Sun), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Elliot Watt described Motherwell's win over Celtic as "huge" but the midfielder wasn't surprised by it.

Jens Berthel Askou's side ran out deserved 2-0 winners for their first victory over Celtic in 10 years.

The Steelmen have already taken points off Hearts and Rangers, both ending in draws, but Watt felt a victory against one of the top teams was the only thing missing from their brilliant start to the season.

"It feels as though it's been coming against the big sides," the 25-year-old told BBC Scotland.

"We've been really frustrated this season that we maybe haven't got the points our performances deserved against the so-called bigger clubs and especially off the back of the last result at Ibrox were it felt as though we at least deserved something out of the game.

"So it was huge bouncing back and showing our mentality and our quality."

Watt scored Motherwell's second goal at Fir Park on Tuesday night and admits manager Askou must take a lot of the credit for their superb display against Celtic.

"Believe it or not, we didn't really work on anything in the final third," he added.

"It was the tactical tweaks the manager wanted to implement that he felt could get us the result.

"The manager's incredible. He sees things that many of us don't. The few tactical tweaks he's made in certain games this season have ultimately led to the results that we wanted. He's seen it and the players ultimately have to go out and deliver.

"We know we've got real good quality and strength and depth within the changing room and we've just got to keep proving that."

Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan and fellow Sportscene pundit Billy Dodds analyse the shortcomings of Wilfried Nancy's team in the 2-0 defeat at Motherwell.