Motherwell’s new manager search: Graham Alexander reflects on his time at club and challenges that await new boss | Football News

Motherwell are closing in on their subsequent manager, with Ian Holloway, Grant McCann and Stuart Kettlewell on the shortlist, however what challenges will the profitable candidate face?

​​​​​​The new appointment will exchange Steven Hammell, who was sacked after the club’s Scottish Cup defeat to Raith Rovers and a dismal Scottish Premiership run.

Hammell, 41, was appointed after Graham Alexander was sacked on the eve of the new season following a disappointing Europa Conference exit in opposition to Sligo Rovers.

Six months after his departure from Fir Park, Alexander has completely advised Sky Sports concerning the activity of managing the club, in addition to reflecting on his achievements which included survival final season and qualifying for European soccer…

What was your remit when you got the job as Motherwell manager?

It was fairly clear; keep in Premiership. When I spoke to the board, once I had the interview, they made it clear how a lot of a nightmare it might be if the club bought relegated. It was mainly seeking to see if we might deliver any gamers in through the January switch window, however it was actually tough, due to Covid, and lockdown, however yeah it was simply to remain within the Premiership.

It was tough due to the context; we seemed at the group and which had solely received six out of the final 35 video games, there was an actual tide to show. We managed to do it, we cleared backside spot by 15 factors, did it fairly comfortably in the long run however there have been definitely moments alongside that run once we had been trying over our shoulder.

How did you go about turning the group’s kind round?

We needed to get the gamers’ confidence going once more; make them consider we’d get outcomes to get out of hassle. We weren’t going to immediately flip a group that had a tough report during the last six months, right into a group that stored a great deal of clear sheets and scored a great deal of targets so we form of needed to focus on one factor. We determined, as we’ve got achieved at our different golf equipment, to strive and rating as many targets as attainable, to simply actually assault groups, to play three strikers, each sport. I believe we had been the joint high scorers outdoors of the Old Firm for the remainder of the season and picked up some huge wins to get out of hassle. It was extra of a mindset, to not simply really feel our means via however to assault the remainder of the season, and we managed to do that very well.

After staying within the Premiership, what was the message from the board?

The club did not need to be in that scenario once more. We needed to change the squad. It was a giant squad, round 40 gamers, and we had quite a lot of accidents. So we trimmed the squad down and put a distinct health construction and damage prevention setup in place, to strive and run a smaller squad and preserve everybody match. To hopefully compete for the highest six, that was the ambition however the principle factor was to remain within the Premiership, there was nothing stated about Europe or something massive like that.

How do you look again on that full season in cost?

With delight. Not simply that season however the entire job. We bought to January in fourth place within the desk. It was a unbelievable first 12 months, just below a 50 per cent win ratio, however we misplaced Tony Watt to Dundee United, and Devante Cole within the earlier summer season. We had misplaced our two high strikers however decided, as a result of a part of the club philosophy is to deliver gamers via, to not spend that cash on readymade gamers to return in.

We wished to decide to the youthful gamers, Cornelius, Shields, Tierney. We had a tough two-and-a-half month interval the place we did not win a sport, which was actually tough however we seemed round and each club other than high three had a very comparable interval of two or three months with out profitable. We received (in opposition to St Mirren), then drew at Livingston with that well-known equaliser with 20 seconds to go and bought into high six. Then the problem was to get into Europe and we managed to do that by beating Hearts at Fir Park. Qualifying for Europe after the difficulties and challenges Motherwell all the time could have, I assumed was a unbelievable achievement.

Did the best way during which you picked up your factors skew the view on the season you had?

Yes, 100 per cent. We seemed at it and we knew that each different club had gone months with out profitable a sport or profitable two in 16 or 18. People spoke about us having a little bit of fortune getting in there, however we had been in there for almost 30 weeks, within the high six that is. Obviously it went to the final sport, getting in there by pores and skin of our enamel however we definitely deserved that place. Over that 18-month interval, solely Celtic and Rangers received extra factors than us. That’s a unbelievable achievement by a bunch of individuals to do that. If I focus on the 2 months once we did not win it appears like a tough time however the different 16 months had been a really profitable time, I’m all the time a constructive man attempt to focus on that.

How difficult was it making an attempt to arrange for the Sligo Rovers video games?

Really tough as a result of once we discovered what date we’d play it was fairly late. We had been scrambling round making an attempt to get pre-season friendlies organised, our pitch had been ripped up so we could not play any video games at Motherwell, we had been then let down by a few golf equipment, so we solely had three pre-season friendlies earlier than going into European competitors and they had been 20-odd video games into their season.

How do you replicate on the video games themselves?

It was a tough evening once we bought beat at Fir Park. We gave a poor purpose away however that can occur. Going into the second leg there was quite a lot of anger and frustration, which I can perceive, however it was tough. We had solely introduced three gamers in due to the price range constraints we had been underneath, we had invested in a model new pitch, for the long-term good thing about the club, and that’s the difficulty you will all the time have at Motherwell, the earlier manager had it, the subsequent manager could have it, that it isn’t simply profitable video games you need to tick quite a lot of different bins.

The club since it has been fan owned has these restrictions which make it extraordinarily tough, and I believe it is solely completed within the high six twice in that interval, so you need to steadiness all these items, as a manager, I can not be egocentric and be like “I just want to win” and “I want that money instead of the pitch I want it on the squad” I needed to look throughout the board and see what was proper in the long run. There had been a few gamers getting back from damage which we did not play in these video games which we knew would play within the league as a result of it was simply too early for them, so it was a tough second as a result of we had been so enthusiastic about it, however to exit within the style we did was actually disappointing and I can not Hide away from that truth. I can totally perceive everybody’s frustrations.

Did you’re feeling the club put an excessive amount of of their cash into infrastructure, reasonably than the group?

I had no enter in that choice. I believe that’s for the long-term profit, the subsequent 10 or 15 years of Motherwell, and with the most effective will on this planet that most likely wasn’t going to contain me over that interval of time. The club, and the board, are very conscious of the survival of Motherwell, over the long run and not only one season. I used to be knowledgeable that was what was going to occur with the pitch, and I had no issues with it. It was described to me once I first took on the job, that there have been quite a lot of difficulties with the job and we needed to tick quite a lot of bins and preserve Motherwell as a sustainable club for the long run and that’s why the choice was made. We introduced in three free transfers earlier than the Sligo video games as a result of that’s what the price range at the time was exhibiting and I used to be effectively conscious of that.

I do not perceive the historical past of when the club was actually on the underside, administration, and going out of enterprise, I wasn’t right here then, these folks had been, and I used to be all the time aware of that truth. The board members had the most effective pursuits of the club in the long run. Not simply me as a manager, although they gave me nice help over the 18 months. They should make choices that take care of the club in the long run, and they’re fairly lifelike of the place Motherwell sit within the meals chain of Scottish soccer, however it’s all the time going to be a problem for Motherwell to compete into the highest six and past, and that’s the truth at this current second.

What occurred after the defeat to Sligo Rovers?

I stayed up till the early hours, with workers speaking concerning the sport, then had a interval on my very own. I went to mattress and bought up within the morning and noticed the chairman Jim McMahon and stated to him, one thing has to vary. There had been issues going on I’m not pleased with, I’m positive the supporters weren’t pleased with, and we got here to the conclusion it was the most effective time for me to go. It’s the primary time I’ve ever achieved that, I simply felt after what we had achieved in that 18 months, that one thing needed to give. I did not assume it was a wholesome scenario at that explicit second, I did not need to get 5 video games into the season and I’ve signed different gamers, and then depart, so thought greatest to go at that second. It was a tough time for myself and for Jim as a result of Jim understood my perspective. Jim understood we had ticked each field and some extra in that 18 months however it was a tough second that needed to have a conclusion.

Would it have been higher for each events when you had left at the tip of the earlier season?

I did not really feel that means at the tip of the season. I believe that two-month run (when not profitable), was tough. There was quite a lot of frustration, however I assumed over the summer season having had the success we had, it might die down and we might have one other profitable season, however I assumed it was clear after the primary leg (in opposition to Sligo) it was nonetheless there a bit of bit. We nonetheless left earlier than a ball had been kicked within the league and solely signed three gamers, there wasn’t a raft of gamers coming in, the switch window was nonetheless open to herald new gamers, the new manager’s gamers, so no I assumed the time was proper, it by no means crossed my thoughts to depart at the tip of the earlier season.

How do you look again on your time at the Fir Park?

I actually loved managing Motherwell, I actually did. I had a unbelievable time, labored with some unbelievable workers and gamers, and had some actually good occasions. I’m not going to overlook the Livingston sport when the gang would not go house, we had to return out to see them! Or the songs at the Hearts sport to qualify for Europe. The lap of honour, all that form of stuff, we had an excellent time. I do know when the emotion is taken out of it, we definitely did the job that was anticipated of us over that time, however soccer is soccer and issues change.

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