8.30pm

Another cracking day out beckons after we were drawn away to Stranraer in the Quarter Finals of the Scottish Cup, with the tie to be held on Saturday, March 22.  Stair Park has a capacity of 5600, so I presume we're looking at an all-ticket game.  Stranraer are currently 3rd in the Second Division and won't be pushovers, but we've got to fancy our chances against a part-time side.  Dare I say that a semi-final place is on the cards?

Loads of information on Stranraer, including directions to Stair Park, is available here.

After much speculation, the club finally confirmed today that Chris McCart has been appointed as the club's new head of youth development, with Maurice Malpas taking over as Terry Butcher's No 2.  The following press release was issued earlier today:

MOTHERWELL RESHAPES MANAGEMENT TEAM

Motherwell Football Club today (Monday February 24) announced a re-structuring of its football management team.

Chris McCart, currently assistant to manager Terry Butcher, has been promoted to head of youth development at the club and Maurice Malpas joins the coaching staff as assistant manager.

Terry Butcher said today: 
"Chris and Maurice are two extremely talented people and I am delighted to have such a strong management team to take the club forward.

"Youth development is of crucial importance to a club such as Motherwell and we already see the benefits of nurturing home-grown talent with the number of young players we have playing in the first team.

"We are very fortunate to have someone of Chris McCart's calibre to take on this vital role for the club and I am delighted that Maurice, who is widely respected in the game, has agreed to join the coaching staff as assistant manager. He brings a lot of experience to the club and I believe the players and our fans will see this as being an excellent appointment."

Chris McCart added: 
"I am delighted to take on my new role and I think all of us involved in Scottish football know how important youth development is at any club.  Motherwell has shown a great example with its youth policy and I am determined to continue the flow of talent coming through the club ranks."

Maurice Malpas said: "I am very pleased to be joining Terry and Chris at Motherwell. The club has shown by its recent results that it can compete with the best in Scotland and I will do everything I can to help the club fulfil its footballing potential."

Ricky informs that if Celtic progress in Europe, our re-arranged fixture with them is unlikely to be until April 12th at the earliest!

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