December 2000

Friday, December 15

John Spencer has admitted for the first time he almost certainly won't be at Fir Park next season.  Spenny's three-year contract expires in the summer and a new deal has not been discussed.  Spencer, who insisted it would be "unprofessional" to discuss his future beyond the summer, said:
"When I signed here I knew it was going to be a three-year plan that the chairman had and the club have upheld their side of the agreement for three years.  I'm hopefully going to do the same and if I do leave in the summer there will be no hard feelings.  It's just the way football is going in general, not just in Scotland. I think a few clubs in the English First Division are in the same boat.  At the end of the season it might be different. You can never say never. If they turn around and offer me a contract you can never say that I'm not going to sign it."

Billy Davies says he will be sorry to see his brother-in-law leave:
"It's not something that's been sprung upon us and we're fully aware of it and we can appreciate that football is all about experiences and pastures new.  It's not a surprise to us - we knew it was there and that it was coming up. As John said, never say never, but we know what the most likely outcome is going to be.  Obviously he is a quality player and he's got a lot of good years left in him, there's no doubt about that.  One of the things that he does do is brighten up the dressing room each morning and there is never a dull day when he's about the place.  He has talents on the pitch - the background that he has and the experience that he's got - and I'm just delighted that a club like Motherwell can bring players like John Spencer to the club.  It's disappointing from my point of view and the club's but that's the way
it is."

With a number of Motherwell's top earners seemingly on their way out of Fir Park to reduce the wage bill, youth seems to be the way forward for the club.  Speaking yesterday, Pat Nevin said:
"We are always keen to bring young players through to the first team, with the likes of Lee McCulloch and Stevie Hammell coming in, so it is not something new.  Obviously, Billy was slightly concerned about throwing Keith Lasley in for his full debut at Ibrox, but he certainly didn't look out of place and really showed what he is capable of.  Keith is one of a number of young players that are quite close to breaking into the first team and if they are good enough then they will get the chance to prove it."

Speaking about the Rangers game last Sunday, Nevin said:
"The goals we lost on Sunday could have been defended better, but Rangers had two or three good chances before they scored, while we never really created anything in front of goal.  I think the turning point was the loss of Benito Kemble to injury while Rangers were forced to take off Flo which meant changing their system and that worked against us.  However, the games against Hibs and Rangers were always going to be difficult and we must now look forward to the home game against Hearts.  Confidence in the dressing room is still high and all the players are up for it, especially after they beat us early on in the season, so it would be nice if we could start another run."

Further team news ahead of tomorrow's game: Don Goodman will miss out once again as he is still struggling to shake of a hamstring injury which has forced him to sit out the last three games.

December 2000 News Index

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