After a search of several weeks following the departure of Stuart McCall, the 44-year-old Baraclough has been chosen to lead us forward.
His most recent position was scout with Huddersfield, a job which is likely to prove useful as we continue to search the English lower leagues for players.
The club did not confirm the status of Kenny Black though he will coach the team at Ross County and is expected to remain in place, at least in the short-term.
“I’m a positive guy and I’m upbeat most of the time," he told the official Motherwell homepage. "The players will find that and I’ll try and get that across to them. I want this club to feel energised and start climbing the table as soon as possible."
It is understood that ex-pat businessman Les Hutchison, who is backing the Well Society in a bid for fan ownership of the club, was involved in making the appointment.
Ex-'Well players Mitchell Van der Gaag and Rob Maaskant were also interviewed, as were Black, Kenny Shiels and Terry Butcher, according to reports.
Baraclough made the usual noises about playing good football, developing youth and giving the fans pride in the team. However, his long-term hopes for success may well have raised an eyebrow in some quarters:
“I want to win trophies," he said. "Why not Motherwell Football Club? Why can’t we win the Premiership? You’ve got to go out with that thinking otherwise you won’t achieve anything.
"To have days out in the cup are great for fans,but they are important. It’s a way into Europe and I’ve been used to that and want more of it, as I’m sure the fans do too."
Referring to his success with Sligo, where he delivered a first championship in 35 years in addition to two cups, is a double-edged sword.
Hiring a 'winner' who wants silverware is undoubtedly positive but recent imports from the League of Ireland to Scottish dugouts - Stephen Kenny and Pat Fenlon - have failed miserably.
And after initial success at Sligo, he was fired following a bad run of form.
At Scunthorpe Baraclough was also dismissed though struggling against relegation from the Championship with a club of that stature does not seem a massive failure.
It does give him experience of fighting for survival though, something that is our immediate priority for the next six months.
"I’m not going to say we need to win these games but psychologically these next few games could be massive for the season and I’m very confident that we can get out the bottom three and start moving up to mid-table and then aim for as high as position as possible," he concluded.
We wish him well!