Malpas (left) with Terry Butcher and Chris McCart

The prospective move had been widely reported over the past week and was made official on Monday afternoon.

Malpas was sacked by Dundee United recently, along with manager Paul Hegarty.

It is understood a compensation deal will shortly be agreed between Malpas and the club he served for so many years as a player.

That allowed Motherwell boss Terry Butcher to bring the former Scotland international to Fir Park.

Butcher's former number two, Chris McCart, has been appointed as head of youth development, replacing George Adams, who has moved to Rangers.

Malpas insisted there would be no room for misplaced loyalty in the relegation battle between his new club and his former club.

I've still got a lot of happy memories of Dundee United Maurice Malpas

"I am at Motherwell now and the Dundee United chapter is closed," he said.

"I'm looking forward and it is all about what I can do for Motherwell now.

"The level of performance here this season has been at the top and the bottom of the range. We have to get some more consistency going now until the end of the campaign."

Butcher said the new appointments gave the club a solid foundation on which to build.

"Chris and Maurice are two extremely talented people and I am delighted to have such a strong management team to take the club forward," he said.

"Youth development is of crucial importance to a club such as Motherwell and we already see the benefits of nurturing home-grown talent with the number of young players we have playing in the first team.

"We are very fortunate to have someone of Chris McCart's calibre to take on this vital role for the club and I am delighted that Maurice, who is widely respected in the game, has agreed to join the coaching staff as assistant manager.

"He brings a lot of experience to the club and I believe the players and our fans will see this as being an excellent appointment."