10am

Motherwell administrator Bryan Jackson has admitted he is more pessimistic than ever of finding a new buyer for the club.  Local businessman Ian Adams was the only genuine interested party and Jackson gave him eight weeks to raise enough money to make a bid. But that time limit has now lapsed, and there seems little chance of a new bidder emerging in the near future.  Jackson said:
"I'm far more pessimistic now than I was six months ago.  At that time there was some real excitement and 12 parties indicated to me they were interested but I was surprised and disappointed by how quickly most of them disappeared.  You could say we have taken a step back to where we were back then, in terms of bringing in a new owner.  The fact of the matter is there are far less people interested in this kind of deal. They probably went to their banks or money people who told them to think again."

"I don't think there is any chance of the club folding in the short term and that is why we have avoided having a fire sale of players.  I realise the fans will be worried there is no buyer. If the club stays up and the club is traded at a profit then Motherwell could stay in administration for a few years.  I'm quietly optimistic I'll find someone by the summer.  But if that doesn't happen, and the club is relegated, you are looking at things getting far more difficult."

Meanwhile, Terry Butcher has spoken about the latest speculation surrounding James McFadden:
"If Parma and Chievo have expressed an interest, I don't know about it and I'm sure I would. He's got quite a collection of clubs linked with him.  But I am sure he will be with us until the end of the season at least. Clubs won't pay the sort of money it would take to get James out of this club.  We haven't put a figure on it but we'll know it when we see it.  I'm sure we will see more realistic bids coming in at the end of the season.  Hopefully by then James will have played more games for Scotland, scored more goals for us and become a much better player.  He'll be suspended for the next two league games and this will be the first time we've been without him this season, so it is up to the lads to show they can play without him.

"James has also been booked five times in competitive games.  He has an edge to him and there are times when I would like to take a bit of it out of his game but that's the way he is."

William Kinniburgh and Shaun Fagan are in the Scotland Under-19 squad for the UEFA Qualifying Section in Slovenia, where they face the hosts as well as Yugoslavia and Iceland

Time for a new opinion poll!

Should Steve Woods be replaced when the transfer window reopens?