Motherwell FC News

According to one of this morning's tabloids, Lee McCulloch and Stevie McMillan are holding out for a slice of the £1.3m transfer fee Wigan want to pay for them.  Apparently when they signed their last contracts they insisted on a clause being inserted awarding them a percentage of any future transfer fees.  It's understood they are both looking for around £60,000.  Lee McCulloch is quoted as saying:
"We both have a lot to think about, but we won't be diving into this.  We want what we are owed and nothing can move on."

Pat Nevin spoke about the transfers in this morning's papers:
"In a perfect world we'd have kept all five of those players and we're not forcing Lee and Stephen out of the door. We'd be delighted if they decide to stay.  However, we're living in the real world and Wigan's offer was too good to turn down. Both players have one more year left on their contracts and, as a result of Bosman, they become depreciating assets in their final season.  As for Billy, he's up for the challenge and no one is pretending it will be anything else. If he was the only manager in this position I'd say, 'Poor Billy' - but he isn't.  Billy is a talented manager and he, myself and John Boyle are in this together.  There have been a lot of calls for Billy's head during our time here but we believe he has what it takes to do this job.  We're not walking away from this. To cash in the three years' experience we've had running this club would be madness.  When I called John to tell him Rioch had left Wigan his reply was, 'Thank God we're running this club because no one else acts sensibly'.  While we have lost some good players, Billy hopes to bring in a few others.  Of course, things will be much more difficult for him because he'll be working with less money and fewer players.  I totally understand his position but this is his chance to prove again what a shrewd and canny manager he is.  I've no doubt he'll produce a good team for next season. There is some money there for him."

"There's no point in me giving the fans some hype because the fact is it's going to be a long, hard road.  I would just ask our supporters not to give up on us because we haven't given up on them.  From here on in we'll be looking to work with a 20-man squad, along the lines of the French model.  The problem is an economic one and we need to be realistic. We tried over the past few years to do things differently, to attract good players and pay them top wages.  However, the people of Lanarkshire didn't respond in sufficient numbers so that didn't work. We lost pounds 2.9m last year and had just 3000 paying fans at our last home game. We couldn't continue like that so now we're going in a different direction. This is Plan B.  We're still aiming as high as we ever did but it's clearly going to be harder than before to meet our goals."

"What needs to be remembered is that it isn't Billy's money or mine which is keeping the club going - that's all down to John.  He didn't expect to make a profit out of the club but the losses were unsustainable.  Hearts have already decided to cut their cloth in the same way and St Mirren have worked to a tight financial remit.  Other chairmen and chief executives agree that clubs can't carry on operating at a loss.  The SPL would also prefer its members to spend more effort, time and money on developing young talent.  That would benefit everyone long-term but it's tough medicine for our fans right now.  That's why we need to show them that the players we'll bring in will be better than they expect."

Speaking in the local press this afternoon, Nevin added:
"Everyone is well aware of the financial position we are in at the moment and the offer from Wigan is one we just simply cannot refuse. I have spoken to John Boyle about it and everyone is disappointed they are going, but what can we do? The only people who have the right to complain about the current situation are the some 3100 who turned up for our last game at Fir Park. We are living in the real world and they have to realise we must live within our means to survive."

"Looking at it you have to say it is now going to be extremely difficult to get into the top six, but not impossible.  Obviously, it is a further blow to lose Spenny, but he has actually done us a favour by staying on until Sunday, especially if Lee does leave.  Unfortunately, the club and Derek Townsley are quite a bit apart on what he wants and what we can afford to pay him, but we hope to talk to him again over the next couple of weeks."

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