Motherwell

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Jens Berthel Askou says his Motherwell side "believe in our ability to beat anyone we play, no matter where we go" after they closed to within four points of third-top Celtic in the Scottish Premierhip.

The reigning champions stumbled to a 2-1 defeat by Hibernian on Sunday - a day after Motherwell thrashed hosts St Mirren 5-0 in their biggest win of the season.

Askou's side remain 10 off leaders Hearts with a game in hand, with some supporters even contemplating a genuine title challenge.

"Obviously we believe in ourselves... we are really happy that people around us are enjoying what we're doing," the Danish manager said.

"Because, in football, we are in a business where people pay a lot of money and they invest a lot of their finances, especially in the part of the country where we are from, which is not the richest part of the world."

Many fans believe they are seeing their team produce the best football of their lifetime - something that was the Well board's ambition when recruiting a new manager last summer.

"We wanted to lift people out of their seats and create a more modern style and try and be as successful as we could with that in the first season," Askou added.

"We've probably exceeded what we could have expected or guessed we would be.

"Time will tell where that will lead us, but for now we are happy that people are on board with us."

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

It is safe to say Motherwell did not let the Scottish Cup defeat by Aberdeen get spirits down.

Scoring five goals against St Mirren on Saturday was a pleasant surprise but it was bittersweet knowing we failed in the cup.

When we are repeatedly told that we play the best football in the country and have some of the best statistics in Europe, the failure in both cup competitions is doubly frustrating.

Technically speaking, we are not out of the race for the Premiership title. All we need is for Hearts, Celtic and Rangers to drop more points and for us to win nearly every game between now and the end of the season. That will likely not happen, but a girl can dream.

The race between the top four will go down to the very last game of the season and even if we are not close to winning it, we will definitely influence where the trophy lands.

We have all heard of helicopter Sunday - we might get ScotRail Saturday depending on whether the trophy needs to be sent up the Clyde or over to Edinburgh.

Now we are out the cup we have no excuse for dropping points. We must take advantage of Celtic still having at least one European game to play and that teams lower down the table can take points off our rivals.

Before the split, we have Dundee United at home, Dundee away, Celtic away, Hibs at home, Falkirk at home and Hearts away.

The games against both Dundee sides, Hibs and Falkirk are all must-wins for us.

If we can take a draw from both Celtic and Hearts, we will be skipping into the split with our heads held high.

Until then I will continue to do the mental gymnastics needed to try to secure us that league trophy.

Motherwell midfielder Callum Slattery is attracting interest from a number of English Championship and League One clubs, with the 27-year-old out of contract this summer. (Football Insider), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Motherwell fans are waiting to get a good shake and for someone to tell them this is all a dream.

Easter eggs are on shelves and the Fir Park club are being talked about by fans and pundits as Scottish Premiership title challengers.

Chants of 'we're gonna win the league' could be heard from the away end in Paisley on Saturday as Jens Berthel Askou's men ran riot against St Mirren.

With each passing week, that song is being sung with less tongue in cheek as the Lanarkshire side threaten to emerge as serious contenders.

Motherwell sit in fourth and are 10 points off leaders Hearts, who have to play Well twice in their final six fixtures. Rangers are six ahead, with Celtic four above.

Another brave, expansive and fearless display from Askou's side again attracted most of the plaudits at the weekend, but the team's outrageous defensive solidity has helped equal a club record.

Just a month on from setting a new milestone for nine straight clean sheets at Fir Park, Saturday's shutout took their tally for the season across all competitions to 20.

That matches Motherwell's record for clean sheets in a season, achieved in 15 fewer games.

Having conceded just 18 goals in 27 league matches - the best return in the Premiership this term - a stats feature from the SPFL, external details that only Roma have a better record than Askou's defence across Europe's top five leagues this campaign.

They have only conceded three goals in their past 15 league games and lost once in 19. It is silly stuff.

In fact, on a goals-conceded-per-game basis, Motherwell are currently projected to smash another club record.

If they maintain their current average of 0.66, they will set a new milestone for fewest goals conceded over the course of a 38-game top-flight season.

The current record is set by the Motherwell team of 1931-32, the only season they have won Scotland's top tier. Coincidence?

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Jerome Prior - Livingston: A superb performance from the Livingston keeper, who pulled off a variety of fantastic stops to repel Rangers time and again. No shame in ultimately conceding two given the deluge he was under.

Stephen O'Donnell - Motherwell: Has been a true, versatile hero at the back for the Steelmen this season. Looks like a player rejuvenated every weekend in this brilliant Motherwell side.

Brooklyn Kabongolo - Livingston: What. A. Strike! Finished like one of the world's best strikers to put Livingston ahead against Rangers. Also put in a big shift at the back.

Harry Milne - Hearts: Not one of the most celebrated at the time, but has to be one of the best recent signings Hearts have made. A model of consistency. The former Partick Thistle player put in another energised, dependable performance for his manager.

Emmanuel Longelo - Motherwell: Thought he looked offside for his goal, but who am I to argue with the VAR lines. Has been an awesome presence down the left for the Steelmen all season.

Felix Passlack - Hibernian: The former Borussia Dortmund player arrived at Easter Road with a fine CV and underlined those credentials with a fine showing at Celtic Park. Took his opportunity superbly with an unstoppable header to fire Hibs in front.

Elijah Just - Motherwell: Every weekend Just underlines his credentials as a player of the year contender. Opened the scoring in the demolition of St Mirren with another brilliant goal.

Ethan Hamilton - Dundee: For his thunderbolt winner against Aberdeen. Great follow-up to his sublime strike against Celtic in the cup, but that was ultimately in vain while this strike at Pittodrie bagged what could turn out to be a vital three points. A statement season for the midfielder.

Callum Slattery - Motherwell: Difficult to look past the fact he went down far too easily as Richard King was sent off. However, the actual football performance from Slattery was excellent. Three assists for the midfielder as the Steelmen further underlined their title credentials by tearing St Mirren apart.

Nicky Cadden - Hibernian: Hibs are simply a far better side with Nicky Cadden in it. His delivery from the left offers so much to Hibs in attack, as shown by the assist for Passlack's diving header against Celtic.

Kevin Nisbet - Aberdeen: The light in the north for the slightly dismal Dons at the moment. His first was freakish - helped massively by Dundee keeper Jon McCracken - but his second was an absolute firecracker of a free kick. On another day might easily have had a hat-trick.

Watch the best of the action as Motherwell hammer 10-man St Mirren 5-0 in the Scottish Premiership. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your views on Motherwell's five-goal win at St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Matt: That was sweet revenge for the League Cup semi-final defeat [to St Mirren]. We were electric. Now we just need to repeat the feat against Dundee and Dundee United and it gives us a fantastic platform to take into the Celtic game at Parkhead. Win that and we are firmly in the title race. Have to pinch myself that we are even in the conversation.

Mark: Sensational Motherwell do it again! How many teams can go to St Mirren's home turf and batter them for five goals? I don't want to get carried away, but that is a champions performance- too soon?

Alan: The manager has had a transformational impact on Motherwell and this was another comprehensive and utterly impressive result. It's particularly pleasing to have another clean sheet. The defence need as much praise as the attack, and with a number of different scorers the issue of having no striker a few months ago has surely been put to rest.

Robert: Five goals and another clean sheet is another fantastic result. And five different scorers is very encouraging.

James: Phenomenal. No more words required. On we go. Have said for long enough we would give somebody a doing.

Edward: We are title contenders!

Motherwell bounced back from their Scottish Cup exit by continuing their impressive Scottish Premiership form with a thumping defeat of St Mirren in Paisley.

Read the match report here

Let us know your thoughts here

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Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou tells BBC Scotland: "We did the job right from the beginning. We were solid, we were aggressive, really good in possession.

"We knew we would have to be even though we had a few counter-attacks. We worked really hard out there to make sure we got the game on our terms. That was the main thing, starting on a high.

"We kept the hunger out there and the desire to keep chasing goals while we worked extremely hard to keep that clean sheet.

"That goal difference could be important in the end to give an extra point in the league table. So it's important to make the score as big as we can when we have games under control.

"First, we want to increase the possibility to win every game we play,. The performance needs to be at a certain level and they have been quite good. Today was obviously a very good one and against the best teams in the league they have been for a while.

"Now we are entering a phase in the league where we play all the top teams once or twice. Time will tell.

"If we can keep pushing the performance levels even higher and produce results then obviously there might be a possibility to climb."

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Keanu Baccus could feature for St Mirren after 10 weeks out with a hamstring injury. Jonah Ayunga (calf) faces another couple of weeks out while Malik Dijksteel (groin) is out long term.

Motherwell welcome back Stephen Welsh after the cup-tied defender missed the midweek defeat at Aberdeen but Lukas Fadinger drops out to complete his league suspension. Johnny Koutroumbis (calf), Callum Hendry and Zach Robinson (Achilles) remain out.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Jens Berthel Askou has been speaking to the media ahead of Motherwell's trip to St Mirren on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• Askou feels referees in Scotland would benefit from being full-time, he says "it would help that they have freed up more time to analyse, to study, to discuss both the situation and the game itself."

• The Motherwell boss "doesn't blame" VAR for the two red cards his side were shown against Aberdeen midweek and thinks "we will see improvements in the years to come, both in terms of how to use it but also the decisions themselves."

• When asked how his side can bounce back from the defeat in Aberdeen, Askou stresses "We do that by staying true to who we are."

• Askou adds "I think there's evidence for this team to be really good at taking the knocks and the harsh lessons and using them to our advantage."

• As they prepare to St Mirren, Askou admits "we still have that little bit of feeling of revenge" after they were beaten by St Mirren in the League Cup semi-final earlier this season.

• The Motherwell manager is expecting "a difficult team to play against" in St Mirren "because they work so hard".

• Team news: Stephen Welsh is back while Lukas Fadinger is out through suspension.

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• St Mirren have won just two of their last 17 league meetings with Motherwell (D8 L7), and are winless in their last seven (D4 L3) since a 1-0 victory in September 2023.

• Motherwell have suffered just one defeat in their last 11 league visits to St Mirren (W5 D5), doing down 1-0 in January 2023.

• St Mirren have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six home league games (W3 D2 L1), losing the other 0-2 to Falkirk in January.

• Motherwell have kept 11 clean sheets and conceded just three goals in their last 14 league games (W8 D5 L1). It's the fewest goals conceded over a run of 14 games by any side in the Scottish Premiership since Rangers also let in just three in 14 from October 2020 to January 2021.

• Motherwell (40 goals, 18 conceded) and St. Mirren (21 goals, 37 conceded) have seen fewer goals in their Scottish Premiership games this season than any other sides, both in total (58) and as a per-game average (2.23).

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

After what had been such a positive seven days I am crushed.

I try not to get angry or upset over results but the Aberdeen double feature has taken the wind out of my sails. We had such a promising shot at making it two semi-finals this season but alas it's not meant to be.

I am speechless as to why Jens Berthel Askou thought making six changes, including dropping Calum Ward was a good idea. Matty Connolly is nowhere near top flight level. Why he insists on playing him in our cup games is ludicrous.

I know some of the big teams in England rotate their squads and that is fine if your bench warmers are worth a couple of million each, we don't have that luxury.

I was hoping I could revel in a hat trick of positivity but I am numb inside. One way to look at things is without the cup to distract us we can look to see if we can cause an upset and finish higher than fourth. I personally find that mindset to be more demeaning than motivating because we should always aim for both.

There was nothing stopping us from doing both and yet the wait for silverware goes on for another year.

We went down to ten men and got a last minute shock against Rangers while dominating that entire game. We controlled Aberdeen with ease like a shepherd managing his flock on Sunday, yet winning seemed impossible.

Dropping down to ten men within the first three minutes on Wednesday should have been a sign of what was to come. Aberdeen having a man sent off should have levelled the playing field however, once again Liam Gordon made a disastrous mistake that has cost us.

It's not the first time he's gone in for a nonsensical and unnecessary tackle that has ultimately cost us. As much as I like him as a player and think he has been overall been great for us he is one of the many that should be hanging his head in shame after this performance.

What worries me is the possibility that we revert back to stereotypical Motherwell ways where one bad result undoes months of progress and success.

We have to bounce back immediately against St Mirren, anything less than three points will be catastrophic.

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Motherwell may have missed a "massive opportunity" to get to another cup semi-final, and even a final, after being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Aberdeen.

Manager Jens Berthel Askou made six changes to his starting line-up for the trip to Pittodrie, which included swapping goalkeeper Calum Ward for back up Matty Connelly.

Oscar Priestman was shown a red card after just three minutes when he slipped and wiped out Aberdeen's Lyall Cameron and Motherwell found themselves a goal down when Kevin Nisbet scored from the resulting free-kick.

The numbers were levelled when Dennis Geiger was sent off for the hosts midway through the first half but not long after the start of the second period, Motherwell were reduced to nine after Liam Gordon was red carded.

Askou's side went on to lose the game 2-0 and former Hibs and Celtic midfielder Scott Allan was surprised by the manager's team selection.

"I was expecting to see the strongest Motherwell team last night," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Changing the goalkeeper does have an impact on the game and he does play it short for the sending off, but Callum Ward has been in there and been excellent of late.

"So, it was a huge opportunity if they overcame Aberdeen, you're then looking at Dunfermline, which you would fancy. Motherwell would have been strong favourites and then you're back at Hampden again and anything is possible, especially because they've been playing so well.

"It's absolutely a chance missed and I think there will be a lot of Motherwell fans really disappointed.

"You look back at that League Cup semi-final against St Mirren, Motherwell were heavy favourites and St Mirren did a job on them. St Mirren obviously deserved it on the day.

"Full focus now on the league but that was a huge opportunity for Motherwell last night, there's no getting away from it."

Holders Aberdeen overcome Motherwell in a controversial Scottish Cup fifth-round tie to set up a quarter-final meeting with Dunfermline Athletic (UK users only).

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Scotland midfielder John McGinn criticised VAR north of the border as "a mess" as his brother Paul's Motherwell exited the Scottish Cup at the hands of Aberdeen in a tie featuring three red cards. (Sun), external

Motherwell have contacted Scottish head of refereeing Willie Collum after having two players sent off at Pittodrie. (Record), external

Thursday's Scottish gossip

Motherwell fans, we asked for your views after Wednesday night's Scottish Cup defeat to Aberdeen.

Here's what some of you had to say:

John: Never a game to put your number one on the bench. Far too many changes. Manager at fault for this one I'm afraid. Officials hopeless too but not the reason we lost.

David: This one is on the manager. No excuses, we blew a fantastic opportunity. Completely unnecessary squad rotation bringing in players who are not up to speed with the way the team is playing. If Jens Berthel Askou is still with us next season hopefully he will pay a bit more respect to the cup competitions and understand how important they are to a club like ours.

Eddie: Don't understand his starting team selection, we had a chance of getting to Hampden this year.

Colin: All plaudits this season are deserved, however this was our worst performance of the season up until 75 minutes when we showed a lot of grit. Decisions did go against us in the game but for once Askou has to take some of the blame, he made too many changes for this game.

James: We were rotten. Didn't deserve anything. Only hope we recover quickly. Some of the starters didn't do themselves any favours.

Grant: Two dreadful sending offs cost us the game but onward and upward in the league.

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Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou: "Very, very disappointed with us not getting anything from this game and not progressing in this cup.

"We really, really wanted to do that.

"The players gave everything out there, with some difficult circumstances.

"First of all, the first red card, then we have to readjust and reorganise a little bit, and I think we did that well.

"Then obviously they get a man sent off and momentum changes even more, and we made a few adjustments at half time.

"We were ready to punish them a little bit harder than we were able to in the last ten mins of the first half.

"Then we get Liam Gordon sent off in a decision that is a mystery to me and will remain a mystery to me because there are two players covering behind him who will, without a shadow of a doubt, get in his way or at least make sure it's never a very obvious goal chance that gets getting."

Motherwell are out of the Scottish Cup after losing to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

There were two red cards for the visitors, with manager Jens Berthel Askou scathing in his assessment of the decision to send off Liam Gordon.

Read the match report here.

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