Guessing game begins over new ´Well boss

Jun 17 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

Guessing game begins over new ´Well boss

MOTHERWELL Football Club’s board of directors are due to meet before the end of the week in an attempt to draw up a shortlist for the vacant managerial position at the club.

Last Friday Mark McGhee ended his two-year stint at Fir Park after becoming the new manager of Aberdeen, where as a player he helped the club win the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1983.

Assistant manager Scott Leitch was offered the opportunity to take over the reins but he opted to head north with McGhee.

The Wishaw Press understands that Motherwell have already received a high number of applications for the Fir Park hotseat from managers currently in and out of employment.

A Motherwell FC spokesman told the Wishaw Press that applications have been received from managers plying their trade in Scotland, England, Europe and beyond.

He said: “The board are meeting this week and are going to draw up a shortlist.

“We have had quite a lot of applicants, some quite high profile and some weird and wonderful as you would expect.

“They will try and whittle it down sometime this week and hopefully chat to people next week.”

Already a number of potential candidates have made it clear they would be interested in speaking to Motherwell.

Former players Gary McAllister and 1991 Scottish Cup winning hero Luc Nijholt both applied for the managerial post two years ago and have this week openly stated they would be interested in the job once again.

McAllister began his career at Fir Park and recently had an unsuccessful spell as manager of Leeds United.

Former ´Well defender Nijholt is out of work following a successful season as assistant manager to Co Adriaanse at Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg.

Lawrie Sanchez has also admitted the job would appeal to him and that a lack of money would not put him off taking the post.

Sanchez was in charge of Fulham for eight months after keeping them in the Premiership during the 2006/07 season whilst in a caretaker role.

But he was sacked in December 2007 after they slipped into the relegation zone following a string of poor results.

The 49-year-old, who famously scored Wimbledon’s winning goal in the 1988 FA Cup final against Liverpool, also managed Northern Ireland to memorable victories over England and Spain in World Cup and European qualifying matches before taking over at Craven Cottage.

With Motherwell’s pre-season training getting underway on Monday (June 22) the club will look to move fast in the hope of having someone in place for their first round, first leg Europa League tie on July 2.

Originally Scott Leitch was going to take charge of pre-season before joining up with McGhee later in the summer but that plan has now been shelved.

Stephen Craigan is now expected to take a leading role in early pre-season sessions although this has yet to be confirmed.