Motherwell

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

After a point secured at St Mirren we are in a stable position - and still undefeated under Jens Berthel Askou.

With the Paisley stalemate the first of three road trips in succession, I was pondering what makes the perfect away day.

Personally, I prefer a journey that can be done fairly conveniently rather than what feels like a trip you'd make to go on holiday. For example, the SMISA is a half-four train ride from Motherwell, whereas Pittodrie is a four-hour journey.

I have visited a few different stadiums and the most enjoyable away days have been St Mirren, Raith Rovers and Hamilton's New Douglas Park.

The results don't aren't a make or break factor since I have yet to see Motherwell win at the SMISA or at Stark's Park. The memories made and people met at these games are why they are some of my most enjoyable times following the Steelmen. The pies were also not half bad.

I have secured my ticket and bus seat for St Johnstone away in the League Cup this weekend and will be trying to get to Tynecastle the following Saturday too. Both are trips I haven't made before and with luck, we will still be unbeaten.

Udinese have agreed a £4.3m fee, inclusive of add-ons, with Motherwell for Lennon Miller, with the 18-year-old Scotland midfielder expected to undergo a medical with the Serie A club on Tuesday. (Sky Sports), external

Ipswich Town failed in a bid to sign Lennon Miller, with the 18-year-old Scotland midfielder preferring to join Udinese after the Serie A club agreed a £4.75m fee with Motherwell. (Scottish Sun), external

Scotland midfielder Lennon Miller has left Glasgow Airport for Italy, where the Motherwell 18-year-old is reportedly to undergo a medical with Udinese.

'Well fans, what do you make of the move? Are you disappointed to see him go or happy the club will bank a fee for him? What did you make of his time at Fir Park?

Do you expect him to flourish on the continent like many other Scots have recently?

Give us your thoughts here.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Calum Ward - Motherwell: Kept a clean sheet, and Sportscene icon Archie Macpherson waxed lyrical about him. That will do for me.

Udinese are pursuing a £4.5m deal to take Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller to Serie A having had a £2.5m offer rejected for the 18-year-old Scotland international in January. (The Herald), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Watch highlights of St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

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Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou admitted he made a late call on Lennon Miller's omission from the squad that played out a goalless draw with St Mirren on Saturday.

The 18-year-old has missed the start of the season with an injury picked up in a pre-season friendly against Carlisle.

"Yes, it was a final call with everything taken into consideration," Askou said. "It's not a secret that there are things going on in the background. We know he's been out for four weeks.

"How much risk are you willing to take on a player like him in that situation? The decision was that we kept him out of it."

The teenager, who won his first Scotland caps at the end of last season, is widely expected to leave Motherwell this summer with plenty of clubs fighting for his signature.

"No, there's nothing I can tell," said Askou when asked for an update on Miller's seemingly imminent departure.

"I've been busy with the game today so I haven't really heard any updates since early this morning."

Another player who might miss the next game is right-back Johnny Koutroumbis, who has enjoyed a good start to the season, but went off with an injury in the first half in Paisley.

"We'll have to assess him tomorrow (Sunday)," said Askou. "I hope it's not too bad. He was not on a stretcher. He was walking and seemed OK but we'll have to assess that when we get back."

We asked for you views on Motherwell's 0-0 draw against St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Ian: Motherwell were a good watch today but I worry about Calum Ward making preventable mistakes in and around his own area.

What was he thinking passing a lackadaisical ball to a St Mirren player just outside his box, almost giving them a golden opportunity to score? It's not the first time in recent weeks he has made strange decisions.

Wullie: Motherwell starting another season playing some very good football yet again. Will this be the season they keep it going? Or will poor results dictate and they revert to long ball directness as usual?

St Mirren and Motherwell failed to adapt to blustery conditions as the sides played out a goalless Scottish Premiership draw in Paisley.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say here.

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou told BBC Scotland: "We did amazing, the two centre-backs were outstanding, totally cancelled their game and it felt like we won almost every second ball in the game. A big performance.

"We know we have to be more effective and some of the opportunities we had. We had not many - a few - they also had a few, mainly on set pieces and a few shots from distance which Calum dealt with perfectly.

"But we played some really good football at times in difficult conditions. The pitch is actually really, really good but obviously it was dry in the first half and a lot of wind from all sorts of directions so there were some odd situations now and then when the ball went up in the air that were hard to judge.

"But I think, again, fantastic performance, fantastic support, 900 Motherwell fans coming here and supporting us."

On struggles in front of goal: "I wouldn't call it a lack of creativity, I thought we tried different stuff but also we have to give credit to St Mirren as well. It's a team that's been in top six the last two years and you saw last time against Celtic that they also had difficulty in opening them up.

"It's a team that's going to be very hard to beat, they're well organised, they're good one against one, they have a fantastic defensive mindset and so we knew it was going to be difficult to get the chances, to play the chances really big.

"We tried our best and we know we need to improve in that phase and get even sharper, and had we been a little bit sharper in a few of these situations today, we could also have decided the game and made it tip our way. We'll keep working on that of course."

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Saints hope to include Keanu Baccus if work permit issues are finalised while James Scott and Alex Iacovitti have both moved to Ross County.

Winger Malik Dijksteel is doubtful through illness while Liam Donnelly (Achilles) remains out.

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou is optimistic Liam Gordon will shake off the injury that forced him off against Rangers.

In-demand Lennon Miller has trained all week while Jordan McGhee (thigh), Sam Nicholson (knee) and Zach Robinson (Achilles) are out.

Image source, SNS

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou is giving his players the necessary "freedom" on the park to "excel", says defender Emmanuel Longelo.

The left-back arrived from Birmingham on a two-year deal and has scored twice in his first four appearances, notably a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw with Rangers in last weekend's league opener.

"From the moment I spoke to him, I already knew this is the environment I wanted to be in," said the 24-year-old.

"He has just told me to be myself, giving me that freedom to express myself on the pitch and just play with a smile.

"That's definitely something I want to hear because I feel like I have attributes that can help the team progress. And also, I like to show what I'm good at.

"I feel like every player will want to hear that. When I spoke to the manager, I heard everything I wanted to hear. He just made it a place where you want to come play and excel. I've just got to repay him for the faith he's had in me.

"I feel like this way is the correct way to play football. Every day we're just buying into what the manager wants us to do, and so far it's going well".

St Mirren are up next for Motherwell in Paisley on Saturday, a game which boss Askou has suggested may require a tweak to the system.

The former Gothenburg manager said: "It is going to be a very different type of football game, because we face an opponent who has some very different strengths and a different approach to Rangers, which will give us some other challenges.

"Which means we've tried to prepare that while still focusing on ourselves and the way we want to approach the game and how to get the game as much as possible on our terms.

"We know there are going to be moments where we need to fight physically and duel with them, it's hard to take out of a game when you play against St Mirren."

• St Mirren have only won two of their past 15 league meetings with Motherwell (D7 L6), and are winless in five (D3 L2) since a 1-0 victory in September 2023.

• Motherwell have only lost one of their past 10 Scottish Premiership away games at St Mirren (W5 D4), a 1-0 defeat in January 2023 under Steven Hammell.

• St Mirren ended the 2024-25 campaign by going unbeaten in their final five Scottish Premiership home matches (W3 D2), and they have won their opening home fixture in both of the past two seasons: 3-0 vs Hibernian in 2024-25 and 2-1 vs Dundee in 2023-24.

• Motherwell have won their opening away game in just one of their past eight Scottish Premiership campaigns (D3 L4), but it was a 1-0 victory at St Mirren in 2022-23.

• In Motherwell's 1-1 draw with Rangers on matchday one, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos had the most shots (five), the most touches in the opposition's box (nine) and contested the most aerial duels of any player (six).

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Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou insists Lennon Miller is looking sharp and preparing to face St Mirren on Saturday amid continued uncertainty over the sought-after midfielder's future.

Miller, 18, attracted bids in January and the summer, with Bologna the favourites to beat the likes of Fiorentina, Udinese and Torino to his signature, according to reports in Italy.

"There's nothing finalised, nothing registered, he's still a Motherwell player and he's preparing for the game on Saturday," said Askou.

"He's got a full week of training under his belt now, which he hasn't had since he had his little injury and his little setback.

"That's positive, so he looks ready, he looks fresh, and he looks sharp, as always. A fantastic football player, so we're happy to have him back on the pitch."

Loan striker Eseosa Sule returned to West Brom for treatment this week and Askou was unable to elaborate on the extent of the 19-year-old's injury issue.

"We're still in a period of assessing exactly how long and what's the specific treatment that he needs. It's a big blow for him and for us," he added.

"I'm very sad on his behalf and on our behalf, because he was looking really good and we were really happy with the progress he's made and the impression he's made here in his first couple of weeks.

"We are one down, who is a specific nine, which means that the guys who are left will have to do the job until he's back. We also have other players who can cover that position."