|
11.30am
Today's Sunday
Mail contains the following piece on Terry Butcher. The same paper
also reports that Leeds are once again interested in James McFadden and
Motherwell could accept a down payment of £300,000 with the rest of his
£1million fee in installments. However in a different paper, Terry
Butcher says:
"We have had no bids for players at all, but the way
things are now there's no desperate need to sell a player."
The Mail also reports that following the Dundee game, the
squad will fly out to Germany for a friendly match set up by North Lanarkshire
Council against Motherwell's twin town Schweinfurt. The trip will be paid
for by the Council.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Herald reports that Eric Deloumeaux is
still in negotiations with the club over his contract. Could it be he's
re-considering his decision to quit?
Anyway, back to that Terry Butcher interview. Butcher says
that the players who survived last Monday's redundancies fell guilty because
they are still in a job:
"It's a strange mixed feeling. The guys remaining are
delighted even though some took a wage cut - but they also feel for those who
went. It's like a fatal crash where the survivors suffer a guilt trip.
Some of the players were thinking last week 'Why wasn't it me?'. I've
known the boys for a while and could see the guilt mentality in some.
Martyn Corrigan and Greg Strong were inseparable. But Greg was one of those who
went and it was strange to see Martyn training without his big mate. You could
sense his mind was elsewhere. But they are getting over it, training hard
and carrying on with the job. They want to do well as a tribute to those
who lost their jobs. And they realise they have a second chance and don't want
to waste it."
Butcher was encouraged by his side's display against Kilmarnock
last week, and added:
"If they can go into every game with the same passion and
play as if every one was their last they will improve as players and as people.
They've proved themselves to be strong people by the way they have come out
fighting and will emerge from the other side better players. I've never
had a week like this and hope never to have one like it again. It was
unpleasant in so many ways but the hardest part was seeing the players after
they had been told to go. Most came back to collect their boots so I got
to say goodbye and good luck. But Strongy and Mark Brown left immediately and I
didn't get a chance to talk to them. It was emotional because I worked
closely with these guys and they were all really good pros who worked hard for
the club."
Despite the situation the club now find themselves in, Terry
says he has no regrets about replacing Eric Black, who looks set to be named
Coventry No 2 this week:
"It's not something I sought and I never thought I would
be a manager again. However, I felt it was better for the club and players
if I took the job rather than have someone else come in. That would only have
unsettled the club further. To have someone step up from within the ranks
has helped everyone because there is no newcomer and we can continue as
normal. I am in daily contact with the administrator as everything has to
be cleared with him first. If I'd been in the job for three or four years
it would be frustrating to have all this extra red tape to get things
done. But it has been this way since I took over so I'm just getting on
with it. I'm trying to steady the ship and keep things running as smoothly as
possible. I don't know what will happen when new owners come in so it's
difficult for me to say I will definitely be at Motherwell next season. I
have some media work lined up at the World Cup and by then I will have drawn up
plans for our pre-season. I would like to take on the challenge for next
season."
Cast your vote in our new Opinion Poll:
How will Motherwell fare in the
SPL next season?
|
