The 2017–18 season was Motherwell's thirty-third consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football and the fifth in the newly established Scottish Premiership, having been promoted from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 1984–85 season. Motherwell also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup losing to Celtic in both finals
Season Review On 2 June, Motherwell announced that they had signed Alex Fisher and Gaël Bigirimana, from Inverness C.T. and Coventry City respectively, on two-year contracts and that James McFadden had left the club. Three days later Motherwell announced their third signing of the season, Craig Tanner on a two-year contract from Reading. Motherwell announced their fourth signing of the summer on 6 June, goalkeeper Trevor Carson from Hartlepool United on a three-year contract. Russell Griffiths became Motherwell's sixth signing of the season on 21 June, signing a one-year contract with the club after his Everton contract had expired. Also on 21 June, Keith Lasley hung up his boots and became the club's new assistant manager. Motherwell announced their seventh summer signing on 30 June, Charles Dunne from Oldham Athletic.
On 5 July, Motherwell announced the signing of Cédric Kipré on a one-year contract after his release from Leicester City. Craig Clay left the club on 17 July to sign with Leyton Orient.
Young striker George Newell signed a one-year contract with Motherwell on 24 July, with Ellis Plummer joining on 2 August.
On 14 August, it was announced that Stephen McManus had decided to retire from professional football and take up a coaching role with Motherwell.
6 weeks into his one-year deal, Cédric Kipré signed a one-year extension with Motherwell on 23 August.
On 31 August, transfer deadline day, Ben Heneghan joined Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee, whilst Jack McMillan joined Livingston on loan until January 2018, and P. J. Morrison joined Clyde on loan until January 2018. Liam Grimshaw returned to the club from Preston North End, and Peter Hartley joined the club on a one-year loan deal.
On 13 October, manager Stephen Robinson extended his contract until 2020, and midfielder Allan Campbell signed a new contract until 2021.
On 14 December, Motherwell announced that they had agreed to the transfer of Louis Moult to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee on 1 January 2018.
On 16 December, Motherwell announced the signing of Gennadios Xenodochof on a short-term contract until the middle January 2018.
On 3 January, Motherwell signed Curtis Main to an eighteen-month contract from Portsmouth.
On 5 January, Motherwell announced that Steven Hammell would retire at the end of January to take up the role of the club's Academy Director.
On 9 January, Motherwell signed Nadir Çiftçi on loan from Celtic until the end of the season. A week later, 16 January, Motherwell signed Tom Aldred on loan until the end of the season from Bury.
Following the completion of his loan deal, Jack McMillan signed for Livingston permanently on 19 January 2018. On 23 January, Peter Hartley made his loan move permanent, signing until the summer of 2020. On 26 January, Alex Fisher left the club to sign for Yeovil Town.
On 31 January, transfer deadline day, Motherwell signed Stephen Hendrie on loan from Southend United until the end of the season, whilst Adam Livingstone joined East Fife on loan for the remainder of the season.
On 13 April, Motherwell announced that defenders Cédric Kipré, Charles Dunne and Richard Tait all had extended their contracts until the summer of 2020, whilst Ryan Bowman had extended his contract until the summer of 2019.
On 16 May, Motherwell announced that midfielders Liam Grimshaw and Andy Rose had signed new one-year contracts with the club.
On 21 May, Motherwell announced that Russell Griffiths, Ellis Plummer, Deimantas Petravičius, Luke Watt and Dylan King would be leaving the club at the end of their contracts, whilst Tom Aldred, Stephen Hendrie and Nadir Çiftçi would be returning to their parent clubs after their loan deals had expired. Shea Gordon, Adam Livingstone, Barry Maguire, James Scott, P. J. Morrison, Jason Krones, Jordan Armstrong, Shaun Bowers and Alfredo Agyeman were all offered new contracts.
Squad
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Contract ends Apps. Goals Goalkeepers 1 Trevor Carson GK Hartlepool United 2017 2020 46 0 13 Russell Griffiths GK Everton 2017 2018 10 0 39 P. J. Morrison GK Academy 2015 0 0 Defenders 2 Richard Tait DF Grimsby Town 2016 2020 77 3 3 Stephen Hendrie DF loan from Southend United 2018 2018 7 0 6 Peter Hartley DF Blackpool 2018 2020 17 3 14 Ellis Plummer DF Manchester City 2017 2018 1 0 18 Charles Dunne DF Oldham Athletic 2017 2020 45 1 19 Tom Aldred DF loan from Bury 2018 2018 22 1 21 Cédric Kipré DF Leicester City 2017 2020 49 1 30 Luke Watt DF Academy 2014 2018 8 0 Yusuf Hussain DF Falkirk 2018 0 0 Midfielders 4 Liam Grimshaw MF Preston North End 2017 2019 37 0 5 Gaël Bigirimana MF Coventry City 2017 2019 36 2 7 Chris Cadden MF Academy 2013 2019 114 11 8 Carl McHugh MF Plymouth Argyle 2016 2019 69 3 11 Elliott Frear MF Forest Green Rovers 2017 2019 45 4 15 Andy Rose MF Coventry City 2017 2019 40 2 22 Allan Campbell MF Academy 2015 2021 43 3 26 Ross MacLean MF Academy 2014 2019 19 1 28 Shea Gordon MF Stalybridge Celtic 2017 4 0 31 David Turnbull MF Academy 2017 3 0 32 Dylan King MF Oldham Athletic 2017 2018 0 0 33 Liam Brown MF Queen's Park 2017 1 0 34 Barry Maguire MF Academy 2015 3 0 35 Jake Hastie MF Academy 2016 3 0 37 Jordan Armstrong MF Academy 2017 0 0 41 Kyle MacDonald MF Academy 2017 0 0 Forwards 9 Curtis Main FW Portsmouth 2018 2019 21 7 12 Ryan Bowman FW Gateshead 2016 2019 66 12 20 Deimantas Petravičius FW Zagłębie Lubin 2017 2018 14 0 23 Nadir Çiftçi FW loan from Celtic 2018 2018 15 3 24 George Newell FW Bolton Wanderers 2017 2018 9 0 27 Craig Tanner FW Reading 2017 2019 36 9 36 Dylan Falconer FW Academy 2015 0 0 38 James Scott FW Academy 2017 2 0 40 Alfredo Agyeman FW Academy 2018 0 0 42 Jamie Semple FW Academy 2017 0 0 Away on loan 16 Rohan Ferguson GK Airdrieonians 2017 2020 0 0 43 Adam Livingstone DF Academy 2015 2 0 Left during the season 3 Steven Hammell DF Southend United 2008 2018 582 5 4 Ben Heneghan DF Chester 2016 2018 50 1 6 Stephen McManus DF Middlesbrough 2013 2018 156 6 9 Louis Moult FW Wrexham 2015 2018 98 50 17 Alex Fisher FW Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2017 19 0 19 Jacob Blyth FW Leicester City 2016 2018 9 0 19 Gennadios Xenodochof GK Unattached 2017 2018 0 0 30 Jack McMillan DF Academy 2015 16 0
Transfers
In Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 2 June 2017 FW Alex Fisher Inverness C.T. Free 2 June 2017 MF Gaël Bigirimana Coventry City Free 5 June 2017 FW Craig Tanner Reading Free 6 June 2017 GK Trevor Carson Hartlepool United Undisclosed 13 June 2017 MF Andy Rose Coventry City Free 21 June 2017 GK Russell Griffiths Everton Free 30 June 2017 DF Charles Dunne Oldham Athletic Free 5 July 2017 DF Cédric Kipré Leicester City Free 24 July 2017 FW George Newell Bolton Wanderers Free 2 August 2017 DF Ellis Plummer Manchester City Free 18 August 2017 GK Rohan Ferguson Airdrieonians Undisclosed 22 August 2017 FW Deimantas Petravičius Zagłębie Lubin Undisclosed 31 August 2017 MF Liam Grimshaw Preston North End Free 16 December 2017 GK Gennadios Xenodochof Unattached Free 1 January 2018 DF Yusuf Hussain Falkirk Undisclosed 3 January 2018 FW Curtis Main Portsmouth Undisclosed 23 January 2018 DF Peter Hartley Blackpool Undisclosed
Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date to Ref. 31 August 2017 DF Peter Hartley Blackpool 23 January 2018 9 January 2018 FW Nadir Çiftçi Celtic 31 May 2018 16 January 2018 DF Tom Aldred Bury 31 May 2018 31 January 2018 DF Stephen Hendrie Southend United 31 May 2018
Out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 12 July 2017 MF Dom Thomas Kilmarnock Free 17 July 2017 MF Craig Clay Leyton Orient Undisclosed 31 August 2017 DF Ben Heneghan Sheffield United Undisclosed 14 December 2017 FW Louis Moult Preston North End Undisclosed 19 January 2018 DF Jack McMillan Livingston Undisclosed 26 January 2018 FW Alex Fisher Yeovil Town Free Moult's transfers was announced on the above date, but were not finalised until 1 January 2018.
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref. 18 August 2017 GK Rohan Ferguson Airdrieonians 31 May 2018 18 August 2017 DF Luke Watt Airdrieonians Six-month 18 August 2017 MF Jake Hastie Airdrieonians Six-month 31 August 2017 GK P. J. Morrison Clyde January 2018 31 August 2017 DF Jack McMillan Livingston January 2018 31 January 2018 DF Adam Livingstone East Fife 31 May 2018
Released Date Position Nationality Name Joined Date Ref. 2 June 2017 FW James McFadden Queen of the South 8 September 2017 21 June 2017 MF Keith LasleyRetired 8 August 2017 FW Jacob Blyth Barrow 26 June 2018 14 August 2017 DF Stephen McManusRetired 16 January 2018 GK Gennadios Xenodochof AEL 8 February 2018 31 January 2018 DF Steven HammellRetired 31 May 2018 GK Russell Griffiths AFC Fylde 28 June 2018 31 May 2018 DF Ellis Plummer Retired 3 September 2019 31 May 2018 DF Luke Watt NK Novigrad 31 May 2018 MF Dylan King Glenavon 26 June 2018 31 May 2018 FW Deimantas Petravičius Falkirk 19 June 2018
Trial Date From Position Nationality Name Last club Date To Ref. DF Bira Dembélé Barnet DF Cédric Kipré Leicester City FW Shaun Tuton Barnsley 8 February 2018 GK Dheeraj Moirangthem Indian Arrows
Friendlies
Competitions Premiership
League table
Results by round
Results summary
Results
Scottish Cup
Final
League Cup
Group stage
Table
Matches
Knockout stage
Final
Challenge Cup
Squad statistics Appearances
|colspan=14|Players away from the club on loan: |- |colspan=14|Players who left Motherwell during the season:
Goal scorers
RankingNationPositionNumberNamePremiershipScottish CupLeague CupTotal1 FW9 Louis Moult806142 FW12Ryan Bowman712103 FW27Craig Tanner62194 FW9 Curtis Main52075 Own goal23056 MF7 Chris Cadden00447 FW23Nadir Çiftçi3003DF6 Peter Hartley2013MF11Elliott Frear102310MF15Andy Rose2002MF22Allan Campbell2002MF5 Gaël Bigirimana1012DF2 Richard Tait101214DF4 Ben Heneghan1001DF21Cédric Kipré1001DF19Tom Aldred1001MF8 Carl McHugh0101DF18Charles Dunne0011MF26Ross MacLean0011TOTALS4392072
Clean sheets
RankingNationPositionNumberNamePremiershipScottish CupLeague CupTotal1 GK1 Trevor Carson1134182 GK13Russell Griffiths2002TOTALS133420
Disciplinary record
Number Nation Position Name Premiership Scottish Cup League Cup Total1 GKTrevor Carson010000012 DFRichard Tait9010001004 MFLiam Grimshaw301010505 MFGaël Bigirimana400010506 DFPeter Hartley210020417 MFChris Cadden000020208 MFCarl McHugh14120001619 FWCurtis Main2000002011MFElliott Frear1000001012FWRyan Bowman2000103015MFAndy Rose3000003018DFCharles Dunne4100014219DFTom Aldred0010001021DFCédric Kipré91101111222MFAllan Campbell6020109023FWNadir Çiftçi2010003026MFRoss MacLean1000102027FWCraig Tanner20100030Players who left Motherwell during the season:3 DFSteven Hammell100010204 DFBen Heneghan200000209 FWLouis Moult3000205017FWAlex Fisher00001010TOTALS705100142947
See also List of Motherwell F.C. seasons
References
External links Motherwell F.C. Website BBC My Club Page Motherwell F.C. Newsnow