|
8.30pm
Following days of speculation, the club finally confirmed today
the signing of Gordon Marshall, Alex Burns and Stephen Craigan. Marshall
(39), was snapped up after being released by Kilmarnock and has signed a
one-year deal. His new manager, Terry Butcher, said today:
"He's an elder statesman. In fact, he's so old I played
against him. He's a fabulous goalkeeper with a lot of experience and can help
our youngsters and our back four. I think we had two or three cleans sheets last year -
and Gordon had 11."
Burns and Craigan have signed two-year contracts having been on
12-month deals at Firhill, and admitted the extra security had been a major
factor in their decision to join Motherwell. Burns said:
"No matter what job you are in, if someone gives you a
one-year contract or a two-year I think you would always plump for the two-year
contract."
Craigan added:
"A two-year deal was a pulling point and for any central
defender playing under Terry Butcher is another one."
Of course, both Burns and Craigan have enjoyed previous spells
at Fir Park. Toastie left for Holland in 1997 and Craigan was freed in
2000, but has since gone on to become a Northern Ireland internationalist.
Terry Butcher also announced that teenage striker David Clarkson
had signed a new contract that ties him to the club until 2006, and admitted he
was hopeful of making a further addition to his squad:
"I have still got the intention of adding one more player
and we are talking to people about that."
TB insisted there had been no bids for James McFadden, Stephen
Hammell and Stephen Pearson, and that the club was under no pressure to
sell. He also hit back at those who have criticised the club for being
able to sign new players despite being in administration:
"Players have left the club, as happens at every club at the end of a season.
That allows us money and wages to bring in other players. We have to work within budgets here, which are not a lot.
"We have had a lot of criticism this week but we did sign players last year just after going into interim administration so it is not a new thing us signing players.
"We have to exist and we have to continue — and continue positively. If the club does come out of administration it has to pay those contracts, or what is left of those contracts. There is no doubt about that.
If a buyer is to be found he would have to pay them their money. They are creditors of the club. I think that was never an issue.
But I was disappointed people have said these things when last year we were doing exactly the same thing.
"We have signed two of Thistle's best players and I can understand them because with their wage structure there was always going to be a situation where players, if they thought they could better themselves financially, would do."
Terry Butcher was probably having a pop at Players' Union
supremo Tony Higgins, who claimed in this morning's papers that sanctions would
be taken against the club if we continued to enter the transfer market while
owing money to the 10 players made redundant last year:
"There is a line we have to go down for the good of the
game. We have to force clubs to operate within their budget and maintain
the relationship which must exist between players and clubs. The last
thing the players' union wants is to be a party to having a club closed down.
But I fully understand Thistle's complaint that they were forbidden to sign new
players while they were in financial difficulties. And yet now they are
looking at Motherwell moving for players at a time when they are in interim
administration. They are working the market even though it has been
established by an SPL hearing that Motherwell must also settle up with the 10
players who had their contracts terminated without notice when the club was
taken into administration. Motherwell haven't appealed against that
decision so they must be accepting liability.
"The SPFA are still working
with the club's administrators to establish how much money is owed but we can't
have a situation whereby a club stays in administration forever to avoid paying
its debts. Leicester City went into administration and then resumed
trading as a new company with £50million worth of debt written off and having
held on to their top players. That's not right and the game has to be
empowered to look at clubs who go into administration - and take sanctions
against them if necessary. The game can't turn a blind eye to what's going
on."
Ahead of tomorrow's Scotland Under-21 match against Germany, Stevie Hammell says
he is desperate to get the game out of the way so he can enjoy a holiday!
He said today:
"I'm looking forward to the game but I'm also looking
forward to getting away from everything and just relaxing because I think I need
it. My last game was three weeks ago and it's been difficult to keep
ticking over and although I'm still fit, I'm mentally drained. You're
thinking the season is finished after you've played the last league game but
then you've got another two or three weeks to go and it does take it out of
you. It's been a long, long season and it's been about a year since I
started pre-season training. And this season more people have been asking
questions about off-the-field things and it'll be good to get away from that as
well. I'm off to Benidorm with my family for a week then I'll be away with
my pals for a week. So I can put everything I've got into the Germany game
because I know I'm away the next day for a month or so. I don't even think
a draw is good enough and I think we really need to win the game and then beat
Lithuania when they come over. If we don't win then it will put us in a
bit of a position but nobody's really thinking about that."
James McFadden is, of course, back in the senior squad for the match on
Saturday, and Hammell added:
"We call him the 'Daily McFadden' in the Fir Park
dressing room. He's the most publicised player in Scotland and the other
day, every newspaper had a picture of him in it. About 95% of what is
written about the Motherwell games are about Faddy. If he has a bad game
that's what they talk about and if he has a good game that's what they talk
about. But it does take the pressure off us all and we can concentrate on
what we're doing. I do think there's a lot of pressure on him though. He
was told he was coming to the under-21's, so how can he go from there to having
all the hopes pinned on him for the senior team? I don't think it bothers
him though because he doesn't bother too much about what other people
think."
Cast your vote in our TWO new Opinion Polls:
Which area
of the team most needs strengthening over the close season?
and
Who is your Player of the Year?
|
