Motherwell

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson has been speaking to the media before the Premiership match with Celtic at Fir Park on Sunday (12:00 BST).

Here are the main points:

• The break was "beneficial", with those not involved in international duty taking part in two "really good weeks of training" and a bounce game against Bolton. Johansson adds it was good to get some time off in the beginning to "clear their heads" before returning to training.

• Dylan Williams has picked up a hamstring injury and will be out for a couple of weeks. Regan Charles-Cook's fitness is still being managed and he won't be available for Sunday.

• With Motherwell on a three-game losing run, the Swede says his side need to "be always intense in everything that we do. When things are going well and not so well".

• On Celtic, the Fir Park boss admits at being bemused by some of the "ridiculous" criticism they're getting after three successive defeats. "I don't understand these things in football," he says. "If you check now the stats from the league, they are smashing almost all of them in the Premiership. The amount of quality they have in their squad, the amount of talent, they're a good team. Let's just stop there and let's not be ridiculous."

• Motherwell will need to be "brave" on the ball against Martin O'Neill's side, with Johansson adding "we need to be aggressive when we press and cover each other's back".

• Johansson's Rosenborg side faced current Celtic striker Kasper Hogh "many times" during his Bodo/Glimt career and rates him as a "really, really good player".

• Celtic lost their last league match 1-0 to Rangers; only once before have they suffered successive league defeats under Martin O'Neill, doing so in May 2001.

• Celtic have won their past six away league games, while the last side to win 7+ in a row on the road in the Scottish Premiership were the Hoops themselves from April to December 2024 (10).

• Motherwell have won just one of their past 34 league matches against Celtic (D5 L28), although that was a 2-0 victory in December last season.

• Celtic have won 11 of their past 12 league visits to Motherwell (L1), scoring 2+ goals in each victory.

• Motherwell have lost their past three league games, their longest losing run since suffering five successive defeats in January/February 2025.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Are underlying numbers from the start of the Scottish Premiership season suggesting a refreshed approach could be taking hold across the league?

Well, the success stories at Motherwell and Falkirk last season seem to have had an influence.

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin was humble enough to reveal that Jens Berthel Askou - now head coach at Toulouse in Ligue 1 - has inspired him to change his ways after more than 15 years as a player and manager in Scotland.

Goodwin's side are one of a number of Premiership teams to have undergone a stylistic shift this term, and that is reflected in the league's overall numbers, albeit the sample size remains small after just seven matches for each club.

Compared with the previous five Scottish top-flight seasons, passes per game have soared to 886. That is an increase of 58 on last term. Five years ago, the average was 795.

Passing accuracy is also at a high of 81%, which is quite a remarkable increase on the 73% recorded in 2023-24.

That is down to more short passing. The percentage of long passes across the league (13%) is now at its lowest level of the past five years. Perhaps surprisingly, Hearts and Rangers go long more than any other teams.

Goodwin's United, meanwhile, have gone from average possession of 42% last term to 50% this season. Their accurate passes per match have rocketed from 219 to 320.

It is a similar story for St Mirren under Craig McLeish and Neil McCann's Kilmarnock, while league leaders Celtic and Alfred Johansson's Motherwell are locked at the top of the possession chart on 61%.

The promotion of St Johnstone back into the league, replacing Livingston, has added another side who aim to play a more expansive brand.

The recent appointment of Dutch head coach Marink Reedijk at Hibernian will only enhance that.

Read more: Why early-season data points to Premiership style shift

Image source, SNS

Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson does not "buy" that there's a crisis at Sunday's opponents Celtic.

The reigning Scottish Premiership champions and current leaders travel to Fir Park having lost three games in a row, one each in the League Cup, Europa League and Premiership.

"I find it quite strange when the team that is number one in the table, they lose a couple of games and then it's a crisis," Johansson told Sky Sports. "I don't buy it.

"The team that we'll face on Sunday is so talented. They have so much quality in their team and in their staff so obviously it's going to be a very tough game and we need to make sure that we are the best version that we can be rather than thinking about them, so that's going to be our task.

"We expect the atmosphere to be great. We expect two teams that want to play football on the pitch. Massive, exciting."

Well themselves have lost three in a row and Johansson hopes his side can get their strategy right in order to play with bravery.

"We need to make sure that everyone knows exactly what to do and we need to gel all these new relationships together and they need to understand everyone," he explained.

"We need to be, as a team, intense in the way that we defend, intense in the way that we press, intense in the way that we protect our own box.

"We need to make sure that we play with a lot of movement. We're a mobile team.

"Then we can be brave to play our way with deep runs, with movement between lines and all of that."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

BBC Sport Scotland has been taking a look at away ticket pricing in Scottish football.

It is an issue which has been tackled at the highest level south of the border, with a £30 away ticket cap having been in operation in the Premier League for a decade.

Nothing like that is in place in Scotland and doesn't appear to be on the agenda at the moment.

Nevertheless Motherwell's away ticket prices appear to stack up pretty well against the English Premier League cap.

An adult away fan going to a league game at Fir Park will pay £27, with concessions ranging from £6 to £21.

Read more: Are SPFL away tickets too expensive?

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Image source, SNS

In an effort to get game time, Stephen Welsh signed a loan with Mechelen in Belgium before making the move of his life to Motherwell from Celtic. He says he had one conversation with Jens Berthel Askou and he was hooked.

"Going from Celtic to Motherwell doesn't look the most brilliant move in the world, but…" it made him.

"How he coached me on and off the pitch, it was top level," Welsh recalls. "I didn't realise how good a decision it was to join Motherwell until close to the end of the season, when you start getting the recognition. I would say that's all down to how he coached me."

Players speak about Askou with something approaching awe and Welsh is no different. "He just gave me pure belief," he says. "He made the game so simple for the team and that helped me as well.

"Every single day, so detailed, how he analysed teams, how he analysed specific ways of playing against teams. The biggest influence on my career by a distance. He completely changed how my career path turned out."

The move to Swansea - his Motherwell pal EIijah Just is alongside him - was another good decision. A manager, Vitor Matos, who appreciates him. A dressing room that's talented and driven. Top of the league after eight games. So far, so good.

Watch: Welsh on Scotland, Celtic & Askou, external

Image source, SNS

We asked you to rate Motherwell's season and tell us what Alfred Johansson should be focusing on during the international break.

Here are some of your comments:

Gary: Losing five key players and bringing in 11 new players and dealing with injury list was always going to be difficult. Season of transition and manager needs time.

James: After a bright and promising start, it's gone downhill. We were never going to win every game, but the draw at St Mirren and the three league defeats were abysmal, not so much the results, but the manner in which we lost goals and the lack of threat in attack. Unless there is a vast improvement, we could get sucked into a dogfight.

Jaime: It's been up and down. Performances have been good, mostly, especially how we played in Europe but I do think Europe quickly tired out the thin squad that we had due to all the injuries. International break has come at a good time. Refresh the tired legs and hopefully a few come back from injury as well and crack on with how we started. Not at panic stations yet.

Edward: Goals! He needs to give Eythor Bjorgolfsson a chance from the start. He's hardly played since joining. Johansson should adapt his shape to get two strikers on the pitch. Tawanda Maswanhise needs to work on his game. If Alf is a coach he must know what's needed to reawaken his goalscoring instinct.

George: New manager, new team, always a settling in period. The desire to keep the same style as last season is reassuring, and the team overall still playing good football. As is often the case in clubs at our level, finding a consistent goalscorer is the big issue. However, this can be mitigated if the rest of the team are prepared to have shots on goal. That's what I hope has been hammered home in the break.

William: Still some positive signs even if results have not been the best. Was always going to be an indifferent start after the unbelievable highs of last season.

Alan: It is unrealistic to expect a repeat of last season given the changes in players and management. There have been some good signings in midfield but we continue to lack proven strikers who can score regularly. Happy to give the team time to bed in and a top-six position must be a target. A good cup run would be a bonus.

As the extended international break continues, we want to hear your thoughts on Motherwell's opening seven games in the Scottish Premiership.

After the exciting European adventure under new boss Alfred Johansson, the Steelmen's form has faltered and they headed into the hiatus on the back of three consecutive league defeats.

There has also been a League Cup defeat to second-tier Stenhousemuir - albeit with a much-changed team - in Johansson's eventful early tenure.

How do you rate Motherwell's start to the season and why? And what should Johansson be focusing on during the extended break?

Let us know here

Image source, SNS

Motherwell have been fined £21,500 for pitch incursions and the use of pyrotechnics in their Conference League qualifying round tie with Freiburg.

The Scottish Premiership club have been ordered to pay £4,300 by European governing body Uefa for a pitch incursion in the home leg and a further £17,200 for pyrotechnic discharges during the second leg in Germany.

Motherwell add that they have also been "officially reprimanded by the SPFL for a pitch incursion during last month's match against St Mirren in Paisley".

The Fir Park club reiterate that they called for "responsible behaviour" from supporters due to already facing significant Uefa fines and added that they are "disappointed that our recent communication appealing to supporters to act responsibly was ignored by a small minority of fans."

Image source, SNS

"Lazy. Think he's Billy big time. Full of himself."

Alex Lowry is well aware of the opinions some people have of him - but is determined to "shift the narrative".

The midfielder, now beginning to flourish with Motherwell, has become accustomed to intense scrutiny after rising through the Rangers ranks as a creative player of promise.

As he bids to fulfil his undoubted potential, Lowry has come off social media and learned to block out distractions.

"I think it was coming through at Rangers and there's a lot of under scrutiny from a young age," the 23-year-old said in a Motherwell club video.

"It maybe affected me at certain points in my life, but as I've got older I've started to realise that as long as I'm happy, the club are happy, my family are happy, it makes my life 10 times easier.

"I try to just not look it. I've come off social media whereas when I was younger I'd maybe look at it and get down about it. Now I just focus on my football, enjoy my football, and live a quiet, nice life.

"I've got a relaxed demeanour which can come across as lazy. But if you speak to any of the boys at the club they'd say I worked really hard.

"Definitely as I've got older I've put more emphasis on working harder, doing more stuff in the gym, being more professional.

"Maybe when I was a bit younger I would rely on my ability, which would get my out of trouble, but now it's a case of head down and prove them wrong. Try to shift the narrative to, no, he does work hard, he is a team player."

Lowry has found happiness on loan at Motherwell from Wycombe, where his struggles mirror his career so far.

Having featured mainly on the periphery at Rangers, Lowry had a loan spell at Hearts before moving south.

"As soon as I heard the interest from Motherwell was there, I said get me up there," he said.

"I watched a lot of Motherwell last season and knew this is where I want to play my football. It's been amazing. I've played a lot of minutes, chipped in with a goal, a few assists and obviously playing in Europe was an experience in itself.

"A big factor in my good performances has been the confidence the manager has put me in. He's given me that trust and responsibility to help the team in whatever way I can. He's given a free role to create and put a lot of confidence in me."

Former Motherwell forward James McFadden assesses the Fir Park side's current predicament.

Alfred Johansson's side have lost three league matches on the spin and have dropped to eighth in the Scottish Premiership.

Image source, SNS

Fir Park boss Alfred Johansson still saw positives in his team's display against Dundee as they tried to bounce back strongly from the heavy midweek defeat to Aberdeen.

The 36-year-old said: "I think that Tuesday was a big disappointment.

"That was mainly due to the fact we didn't play the way we wanted to play and we didn't have that energy, togetherness and connection in the team, especially in the second half.

"Today, what we wanted to see was a positive reaction on how we play and I think we got it.

"We played the way we wanted to play. We had attacking threats from low build-up and late build-ups and finding our 10s and getting the ball down the sides.

"There were connections on both sides and we created a couple of chances from that. I think it was very positive."

However, the Fir Park boss insisted his side should have been awarded a penalty.

He said: "When you ask me I am going to say I believe it was a penalty. I saw it on TV but sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't.

"We are maybe not the luckiest in terms of penalty decisions but I am sure we will be in the future."

Johansson also believed the Dundee spot-kick award was contentious.

He added: "I think it is a soft penalty. That is all I want to say about that, it is what it is. Next time maybe we get a soft one."

Motherwell have now lost three league games in a row but Johansson still took positives from the latest defeat.

He added: "I liked the energy in the team fighting for second balls. What was missing was the end product.

"The chances we did create we need to convert more, but I also think from these good build-up plays then the last pass or cross was what meant we didn't win this game.

"If we improve that part, which we will work really hard to do, then it will not only improve our attacking threat and lead to less transitions against us.

"We took a good step from what we have seen lately. The end product was what was missing."

Dundee resist Motherwell's comeback to secure three Scottish Premiership points at Dens Park (UK only).

Motherwell fans, we asked for your opinions on the 2-1 loss to Dundee at Dens Park. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Dman: Another disappointing afternoon, the first goal is an extremely soft penalty on Emmanuel Longelo for handball, when his hand is by his side and there's nowhere else to go there. That's the rule these days sadly.

The second goal is criminal from Alex Paulsen, but he also made a couple of great saves later in the game. We are hugely lacking a clinical, penalty-box, striker. There seems to be a reluctance to shoot in and around the box. Hopefully the break means we can sort ourselves out.

Mark: I don't know why the gaffer is allergic to putting Tawanda Maswanhise on the bench. I think he's only starting because of last season. Yet again he offered very little. Nice to see Seb Palmer-Houlden, an actual striker, starting. We still need to move the ball faster and be more solid in the back. Get Stephen O'Donnell starting again if he can. Alex Lowry is some player though.

Eddie: Looks like a tough season ahead. I'll settle for tenth.

David: To compare last season to this so early would be poor, but this team haven't so far shown the capability, speed, passing or defending that we had. We have pushed the boat out on players we normally couldn't have afforded, and aside from some good goals, it's been a poor start.

Allan: We have a group of players from the United Nations. We have a manager who smiles and is happy confident and comfortable.

We will get it all together. A pizza is round in a square box. It is cut into triangles. It works, so can we.

Ian: Fourth to eighth in the league. It's obviously early in the season but it's also obvious that it's not good enough! Something needs to change and very soon - perhaps putting the ball in the net would be a good start? I hope they don't get themselves into a situation at the bottom end of the league because it's as much a psychological battle as it is a physical battle to find the answer to get out of it.

George: We've not suddenly become a bad team, but we are definitely now much more fearful at the back, and indecisive up front. The issues seem more psychological than skill, and need to be addressed before this becomes a downward trend. Management team needs to adopt Ted Lasso mode!

Motherwell lost their third Scottish Premiership game in a row as Dundee made the most of two goalkeeping mistakes to clinch victory at a blustery Dens Park.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say on the game via this link.

Image source, SNS

Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson: "It's a frustrating game to lose, we did many things very well. Our build up is good, we have a lot of final third entries, playing diagonal balls to the fullbacks.

"Our left side created difficulties for Dundee. What was missing today was the end product. The last pass, the decision-making, the quality of the crossing, that's what was missing.

"That makes us not create as many chances as we should have, and gives transitions to Dundee where they look dangerous. We need to clean that up.

"Still, we had chances that we didn't convert. I see a team that shows a positive reaction from Tuesday, where we weren't happy at all with how the second half panned out.

"Even in a difficult moment, where they score two goals, I still saw a team that tried and showed belief, and backed their teammates up. They worked hard for each other, talked much more, they were touching each other, giving high-fives and pats on the back and so on.

"I see a step. There's parts to improve. That's how I see it."

Image source, SNS

Dundee striker Joe Westley could feature in a protective mask following his cheekbone fracture.

Ryan Finnigan (ankle) is a major doubt, while Zan Besir is suspended and Finlay Robertson drops out with cruciate ligament damage. Simon Murray and Ashley Hay are also out with knee injuries.

Motherwell remain without Johnny Koutroumbis, Oscar Priestman (calf), Paul McGinn, Callum Hendry (both knee) and Jordan McGhee (hamstring).

Image source, SNS

Alfred Johansson remains positive on the potential of his Motherwell team as they look to bounce back from a surprise trouncing at home to Aberdeen.

A run of two wins, two draws and two defeats has the Fir Park side sitting fifth in the Premiership, one point in front of Saturday's opponents Dundee.

The two league losses have come back-to-back, with a 1-0 reverse at Ibrox followed by shipping four goals to the Dons on Tuesday.

"I think we are in a learning process with this group, 10 new players in the door," said Johansson.

"If we were the finished product today, then someone would have to give us a prize and it's not how it works. This is a long-term development with this group, as was the same case last year.

"It's a good start to the season. It's been a couple of weeks where the performances have not been maybe as good but still, we see a group that is progressing, a group that is very committed, a group that trains really, really good.

"The players are super committed. Everyone is very humble and hard-working and I love my job. I love to be on the pitch with these guys. It's the best.

"In sports, when you win, you can't be thinking that you are on top of the world because then you can start to become a little bit complacent and drop your performances.

"Equally, when you lose a game, you can't think that you are now the worst or it's a crisis because then you can also become a little bit scared of doing your best and playing the way that we want to play."

Motherwell started slowly last season under Jens Berthel Askou, going on to finish fourth. However, they took just one point from their two visits to Dens Park under Johansson's predecessor.

"We look forward to Saturday and we have a good feeling, even if probably it was better two weeks ago," added the Swede.

"But we have a really good belief in what we're doing and in this group of players. A lot of potential that we know that we will untap together."