MX23RW : Friday, April 26 23:18:19| >> :120:58517:58517:

Graham Alexander hints at further Motherwell signings

Graham Alexander hints at further Motherwell signings
© Reuters
There could be 6,500 fans at Fir Park on Sunday.

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander is targeting improvement and has called on the returning fans to roar his team to victory over Hibernian following a tough pre-season.

Alexander has several players missing including Mark O'Hara and is still looking to complete his squad.

Motherwell won their Premier Sports Cup group but lost to Airdrie in front of 700 travelling fans in a Lanarkshire derby and had some other challenging moments along the way.

Alexander is happy with his recruitment so far, however, and is looking for a flying start against Hibernian at Fir Park on Sunday as his side look to better last season's eighth-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership.

"In professional sport you have always got to try and improve everything you do, even if you are top of the tree," he said. "And that's the target for us.

"It's been a broken pre-season really, recruitment has been difficult, getting the right players in. We have had a lot of trialists in just to fulfil fixtures and look at those guys.

"We have probably had our main squad training together for 10 days to two weeks.

"But that's the challenge, I'm not saying I'm the only manager who has that challenge in football, certainly in these times.

"We are happy with our recruitment so far but we are still light in certain areas.

"We probably want to carry two or three players more than we first planned because of the issues with Covid, which are not going away.

"At any point we could lose players through no fault of our own and we have to be strong enough to withstand that as the season goes through.

"We are still looking and working hard, we have some players we are trying to get over the line and we have an open mind about what we might find being let go by other clubs."

There will be up to 4,500 home fans and potentially 2,000 Hibernian supporters at the league opener as restrictions on crowds ease further.

"We felt that impact when they first came through the door and it's been really positive," Alexander said.

"We didn't have a positive night in the cup against our local rival but I suppose we got them used to the trials and tribulations of being a Motherwell supporter really early.

"But hopefully they will see we are creating a team that is dedicated to their job and wants to win games for the supporters and themselves.

"But we need everyone together. That's the biggest thing in football, in life, I talk about it with my squad all the time, about being together on and off the pitch, and we need the supporters with us as well.

"We can't do anything separate. Our club is fighting against much bigger clubs week in, week out, and we have to get that togetherness and that rapport between us and the supporters to make sure we are stronger when we come up against those opponents.

"If I know those supporters, from my short time, they will get behind us and give us that support."

ID:457612: cacheID:457612:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4262:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Fir Park, home of Motherwell, from November 2011
Read Next:
Liam Donnelly eager to witness "exciting" return of Motherwell fans
>
Read more about Graham Alexander Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1pm
Bublik
Carballes Baena
10am
Auger-Aliassime
Mannarino
10am
Bautista Agut
Khachanov
10am
Cachin
Tiafoe
10am
De Minaur
Nadal
10am
Dimitrov
Mensik
10am
Jarry
Cobolli
10am
Kecmanovic
Ruud
10am
Kotov
Thompson
10am
Lehecka
Medjedovic
10am
Machac
Shelton
10am
Medvedev
Arnaldi
10am
Monteiro
Tsitsipas
10am
Norrie
Fonseca
10am
Purcell
Korda
10am
Sinner
Sonego
10am
Azarenka
Sorribes Tormo
10am
Annie Fernandez
Jabeur
10am
Gauff
Yastremska
10am
Haddad Maia
Navarro
10am
Keys
Samsonova
10am
Ostapenko
Lourdes Carle
10am
Stephens
Sakkari
10am
Swiatek
Cirstea
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!