MOTHERWELL PLAYERS WARNED THEY'RE 'AUDITIONING' FOR NEXT SEASON

Motherwell boss Michael Wimmer has warned fringe players they essentially have three games to ‘audition’ for next season.

The Fir Park club currently have 34 players available, which doesn’t count players on loan or further injuries, which will have to be brought down over the summer.

Wimmer has 18 contracted players and said last week he’s looking to bring in ‘three or four’, so it’s up to current squad players to prove their worth in games against Hearts, Kilmarnock and Ross County.

When asked if players are auditioning for next season, Wimmer said: “Yes, absolutely. I think it’s always important that it’s no gift, that you have to deserve it, because I have to say to another player ‘you are out now, and he should play’.

“I have to explain my decisions, and if someone doesn’t deserve it, why should he stay.

“The guys are working so hard in this squad at the moment, that there’s no-one I can say ‘he doesn’t deserve it’, so they deserve the chance, and they will get it.

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“But there is also no pressure in them saying ‘now I have to play’.

“It was a tough time for me as a manager to come in with a big squad, with 34 players.

“I don’t want to say how big is the squad, or how many players, but this squad is too big and we have to reduce it.

“The work behind the scenes is very good at the moment, we’re on the right way and we will make the final decisions.

“I only want to see how they are moving on the pitch, how he deals with the position and this is important for me, and we will see about this result.”

Wimmer added: “There are players I want to see on the pitch now, to get minutes, and I expect that they give everything.

“I’m not here to make gifts, you have to deserve your place on the pitch.

“But the players are working so hard in training, nobody is saying ‘for me the season is over’, so there are many guys who deserve now to stay on the pitch and get minutes.

“It’s important for me now to get a picture also, to make the final decision on the recruitment.

“We have many players here and I will see.”

2025-05-08T14:07:52Z