2020–21 Motherwell F.C. season

The 2020–21 season is Motherwell's thirty-sixth consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football, having been promoted from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 1984–85 season.

Motherwell

2020–21 season
Chairman	James McMahon
Manager	Stephen Robinson
Stadium	Fir Park
Home colours Away colours

Season review

Pre-season

On 17 June, UEFA announced that all UEFA Europa League qualifying and playoffs rounds would be played over one-leg, instead of the usual two, with Motherwell's First Round match taking place on 27 August.[1]

On 23 June, Declan Gallagher was announced as the club's new captain, with Trevor Carson being appointed vice-captain after former captain Peter Hartley left the club at the end of the previous season.[2]

On 24 June, Motherwell announced that they had giving permission to manager Stephen Robinson to discuss the vacant Northern Ireland managerial position.[3]

On 27 June, Charles Dunne signed a new short-term contract with the club, until December 2020.[4]

On 10 July, Chris Long signed a new one-year contract with the club.[5]

Transfers

On 10 June, Motherwell announced the singing of Ricki Lamie on a contract until the summer of 2022.[6]

On 12 June, Motherwell announced their second singing of the summer, with Jordan White.[7]

On 15 June, Motherwell announced the signing of Nathan McGinley to a two-year contract after his contract with Forest Green Rovers had expired.[8] The following day, Motherwell announced that youngsters Barry Maguire, Peter Morrison, Harry Robinson and Yusuf Hussain had all signed new one-year contracts with the club.[9]

On 22 June, Motherwell announced the singing of Scott Fox on a one-year contract, after his Partick Thistle contract had expired.[10]

On 24 June, Motherwell announced that they had signed Mark O'Hara on permanent deal from Peterborough United for a nominal fee, with O'Hara signing a two-year contract.[11]

On 3 July, Motherwell announced the return of Jake Hastie on a season-long loan deal from Rangers.[12]

On 29 July, Motherwell announced the signing of Callum Lang on a season-long loan deal from Wigan Athletic.[13]

On 13 August, Motherwell announced the signing of Stephen O'Donnell on a contract until the mid-season transfer window.[14]

Transfers

Main articles: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2020 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2020-21

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref
10 June 2020	DF		Ricki Lamie	Livingston	Free	[6]
12 June 2020	FW		Jordan White	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Free	[7]
15 June 2020	DF		Nathan McGinley	Forest Green Rovers	Free	[8]
22 June 2020	GK		Scott Fox	Partick Thistle	Free	[10]
24 June 2020	MF		Mark O'Hara	Peterborough United	Undisclosed	[11]
13 August 2020	DF		Stephen O'Donnell	Kilmarnock	Free	[14]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
3 July 2020	MF		Jake Hastie	Rangers	End of Season	[12]
29 July 2020	FW		Callum Lang	Wigan Athletic	End of Season	[13]

Squad

As of match played 15 August 2020[15]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Signed in	Contract ends	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Trevor Carson		GK	(1988-03-05) 5 March 1988	Hartlepool United	2017[16]	2022[17]	67	0
12	Scott Fox		GK	(1987-06-28) 28 June 1987	Partick Thistle	2020[10]	2021[10]	0	0
23	Peter Morrison		GK	(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998	Academy	2009	2021[9]	0	0
30	Matty Connolly		GK	(2003-03-02) 2 March 2003	Academy	2019	2021	0	0
Defenders
2	Liam Grimshaw		DF	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995	Preston North End	2017[18]	2022[19]	106	0
3	Jake Carroll		DF	(1991-08-11) 11 August 1991	Cambridge United	2019[20]	2021[20]	27	2
4	Ricki Lamie		DF	(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993	Livingston	2020[6]	2022[6]	4	0
5	Nathan McGinley		DF	(1996-09-15) 15 September 1996	Forest Green Rovers	2020[8]	2022[8]	1	0
16	Bevis Mugabi		DF	(1995-05-01) 1 May 1995	Yeovil Town	2019[21]	2021[22]	14	0
18	Charles Dunne		DF	(1993-02-13) 13 February 1993	Oldham Athletic	2017[23]	2020[4]	78	1
24	David Devine		DF	(2001-06-20) 20 June 2001	Academy	2019	2021	1	0
27	Yusuf Hussain		DF	(2001-04-26) 26 April 2001	Falkirk	2018	2021[9]	0	0
28	Max Johnston		DF	(2003-12-24) 24 December 2003	Academy	2020		0	0
31	Declan Gallagher		DF	(1991-02-13) 13 February 1991	Livingston	2019[24]	2021[24]	40	2
33	Stephen O'Donnell		DF	(1992-05-11) 11 May 1992	Kilmarnock	2020[14]	2020[14]	1	0
34	Matthew McDonald		DF	(2002-08-26) 26 August 2002	Academy	2019	2021	0	0
35	Cameron Wilson		DF	(2003-05-20) 20 May 2003	Academy	2019	2021	0	0
	Sam Muir		DF	(2002-07-10) 10 July 2002	Academy	2019	2021	0	0
Midfielders
6	Allan Campbell		MF	(1998-07-04) 4 July 1998	Academy	2016	2021[25]	123	12
7	Mark O'Hara		MF	(1995-12-12) 12 December 1995	Peterborough United	2020[11]	2022[11]	24	2
8	David Turnbull		MF	(1999-07-10) 10 July 1999	Academy	2017	2022[26]	40	16
15	Barry Maguire		MF	(1998-04-27) 27 April 1998	Academy	2015	2021[9]	14	0
19	Liam Polworth		MF	(1994-10-12) 12 October 1994	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2019[27]	2021[27]	39	3
20	Jamie Semple		MF	(2000-05-17) 17 May 2000	Academy	2018	2021[28]	6	0
22	Liam Donnelly		MF	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996	Hartlepool United	2018[29]	2022[30]	41	12
26	Dean Cornelius		MF	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001	Hibernian	2018	2021	1	0
40	Paul Hale		MF	(2003-01-26) 26 January 2003	Academy		2021	0	0
42	Lewis Robertson		MF	(2003-01-01) 1 January 2003	Rangers	2019	2021	0	0
Forwards
9	Jordan White		FW	(1992-02-04) 4 February 1992	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2020[7]		4	0
11	Jake Hastie		FW	(1999-03-18) 18 March 1999	loan from Rangers	2020[12]	2021[12]	21	7
14	Jermaine Hylton		FW	(1993-06-28) 28 June 1993	Solihull Moors	2019[31]	2021[31]	39	4
17	Sherwin Seedorf		FW	(1998-03-17) 17 March 1998	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2019[32]	2021[32]	32	3
21	Harry Robinson		FW	(2000-09-26) 26 September 2000	Oldham Athletic	2020[33]	2021[9]	1	0
25	Ross Maciver		FW	(1999-02-28) 28 February 1999	Ross County	2019[34]	2021[34]	8	1
29	Callum Lang		FW	(1998-09-08) 8 September 1998	loan from Wigan Athletic	2020[13]	2021[13]	2	0
32	Tony Watt		FW	(1993-12-29) 29 December 1993	CSKA Sofia	2020[35]	2021[36]	9	2
36	Findlay Cook		FW	(2002-05-31) 31 May 2002	Academy		2021	0	0
99	Chris Long		FW	(1995-02-25) 25 February 1995	Blackpool	2019[37]	2021[5]	35	11
Away on loan
Left during the season

Friendlies

Motherwell v Dundee United

11 July 2020	Motherwell	1 – 0	Dundee United	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	White  55'	Report

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

17 July 2020	Motherwell	2 – 3	Kilmarnock	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	O'Hara Watt	Report	Kabamba Trialist Kiltie	Stadium: Fir Park

Rangers v Motherwell

22 July 2020	Rangers	4 – 0	Motherwell	Glasgow
20:00 BST (UTC+1)	Kent  7' Hagi  10' Aribo  45' Lamie  68' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Ibrox Stadium

Motherwell v Hamilton Academical

25 July 2020	Motherwell	2 – 2	Hamilton Academical	Motherwell
14:00 BST (UTC+1)	Donnelly  41' Lamie  70'	Report	McMann  45' Ogkmpoe  50'	Stadium: Fir Park

Competitions

Premiership

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish Premiership

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
7	St Johnstone	3	1	1	1	3	5	−2	4
8	Kilmarnock	4	0	2	2	5	7	−2	2
9	Motherwell	4	0	2	2	2	4	−2	2
10	Livingston	3	0	1	2	3	7	−4	1
11	Aberdeen	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0	Qualification for the Premiership play-off final

Updated to match(es) played on 15 August 2020. Source: BBC SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-Head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[38]
Notes:

1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4
Ground	A	H	H	A
Result	L	L	D	D
Position	11	10	8	9

Updated to match(es) played on 15 August 2020. Source: See Results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
4	0	2	2	2	4	−2	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	0	1	1	0	1	−1

Last updated: 15 August 2020.
Source: Results

Results

Ross County v Motherwell

3 August 2020 1	Ross County	1 – 0	Motherwell	Dingwall
19:45 BST (UTC+1)	Stewart  24' (pen.) Paton  57' Reid  75'	Report	Gallagher  24' Donnelly 73' Lang  87'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Nick Walsh
Note: Match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

Motherwell v Dundee United

8 August 2020 2	Motherwell	0 – 1	Dundee United	Motherwell
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Campbell  71' Turnbull  78'	Report	Reynolds  52'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean
Note: Match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

Motherwell v Livingston

12 August 2020 3	Motherwell	2 – 2	Livingston	Motherwell
19:45 BST (UTC+1)	Turnbull  8' Lamie  11' Campbell  35' White  61'	Report	Dykes  10' (pen.) Sibbald  41' Forrest  69'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Colin Steven
Note: Match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

Hibernian v Motherwell

15 August 2020 4	Hibernian	0 – 0	Motherwell	Edinburgh
17:30 BST (UTC+1)		Report	Campbell  72'	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Aitken
Note: Match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

Motherwell v Hamilton Academical

22 August 2020 5	Motherwell	–	Hamilton Academical	Motherwell
15:00 BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Fir Park
Note: Match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

Scottish Cup

v

2021 First round		–
GMT (UTC)

League Cup

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish League Cup

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2020–21 UEFA Europa League

Qualifying Rounds

Main article: 2020–21 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round

Motherwell v Glentoran or HB Tórshavn

27 August 2020 First Qualifying Round	Motherwell	–	Glentoran or HB Tórshavn	Motherwell, Scotland
BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Fir Park

Challenge Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of match played 15 August 2020

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		Scottish Cup		League Cup		UEFA Europa League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Trevor Carson	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF		Liam Grimshaw	4	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF		Ricki Lamie	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF		Nathan McGinley	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF		Allan Campbell	3	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF		Mark O'Hara	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		David Turnbull	7	1	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW		Jordan White	4	0	2+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW		Jake Hastie	3	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW		Jermaine Hylton	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	DF		Bevis Mugabi	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW		Sherwin Seedorf	4	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF		Liam Polworth	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	FW		Harry Robinson	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF		Liam Donnelly	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	FW		Callum Lang	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF		Declan Gallagher	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	FW		Tony Watt	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF		Stephen O'Donnell	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
99	FW		Chris Long	4	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players away from the club on loan:
Players who left Motherwell during the season:

Goal scorers

As of match played 15 August 2020

Ranking	Nation	Position	Number	Name	Scottish Premiership	Scottish Cup	League Cup	UEFA Europa League	Total
1	MF		8	David Turnbull	1	0	0	0	1
	MF		6	Allan Campbell	1	0	0	0	1
TOTALS					2	0	0	0	2

Clean sheets

As of match played 15 August 2020

Ranking	Nation	Position	Number	Name	Scottish Premiership	Scottish Cup	League Cup	UEFA Europa League	Total
1	GK		1	Trevor Carson	1	0	0	0	1
TOTALS					1	0	0	0	1

Disciplinary record

As of match played 15 August 2020

Number	Nation	Position	Name	Premiership		Scottish Cup		League Cup		UEFA Europa League		Total
4		DF	Ricki Lamie	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
6		MF	Allan Campbell	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
8		MF	David Turnbull	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9		FW	Jordan White	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
29		FW	Callum Lang	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
31		DF	Declan Gallagher	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
			TOTALS	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1

See also

• List of Motherwell F.C. seasons

References

1. "'WELL IN EUROPE ON 27 AUGUST". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
2. "DECLAN GALLAGHER APPOINTED AS MOTHERWELL CAPTAIN". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
3. "STEPHEN ROBINSON GIVEN PERMISSION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND TALKS". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
4. "CHARLES DUNNE AGREES NEW DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
5. "CHRISTOPHER LONG RETURNS TO MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
6. "RICKI LAMIE SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
7. "JORDAN WHITE SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
8. "NATHAN MCGINLEY SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
9. "YOUNG FOUR SIGN NEW DEALS". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
10. "SCOTT FOX SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
11. "MARK O'HARA SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
12. "JAKE HASTIE RETURNS TO MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
13. "CALLUM LANG SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
14. "STEPHEN O'DONNELL SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
15. "2017/18 squad numbers confirmed". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
16. "Carson Joins From Pools". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
17. "TREVOR CARSON SIGNS NEW DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
18. "Grimshaw Makes Steelmen Return". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
19. "LIAM GRIMSHAW SIGNS NEW CONTRACT". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
20. "JAKE CARROLL NEXT TO SIGN FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
21. "BEVIS MUGABI SIGNS SHORT-TERM DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
22. "BEVIS MUGABI SIGNS NEW DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
23. "Charles Dunne joins the Steelmen". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
24. "DECLAN GALLAGHER SIGNS PRE-CONTRACT AGREEMENT". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
25. "ALLAN CAMPBELL SIGNS IMPROVED DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
26. "DAVID TURNBULL SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
27. "LIAM POLWORTH TO JOIN MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
28. "JAMIE SEMPLE EXTENDS HIS CONTRACT". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
29. "Liam Donnelly is signing number two". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
30. "LIAM DONNELLY SIGNS EXTENDED CONTRACT". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
31. "MOTHERWELL ADD JERMAINE HYLTON". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
32. "SHERWIN SEEDORF SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
33. "HARRY ROBINSON SIGNS SHORT-TERM DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
34. "NEW DEAL FOR ROSS MACIVER". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
35. "TONY WATT SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
36. "TONY WATT SIGNS NEW DEAL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
37. "CHRISTOPHER LONG SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
38. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Retrieved 20 October 2019.