With no early July fixtures in the Europa League to serve as a warm up to the start of the SPL campaign Motherwell will have to be content with the traditional pre-season friendly games to sharpen up the players.
We have a confirmed date with the Sons of the Rock at 3pm on Saturday 9 July. In recent times Ross Forbes sported the Sons’ colours while on loan and over the summer Nicky Delvin has moved to Fir Park. The youngster, a full back, has captained Scotland’s U18 team and has been called into the U19 squad. A growing relationship exists between the clubs and Gordon Young is keen that it develops with the exchange of more players.
No European Tour this summer
The Leeds United official site reports that Motherwell have asked the SFA for permission to host a friendly at Fir Park on Saturday 16 July and it suggests that confirmation will come by the end of this week.
There’s no doubt that fans will miss the early season European games. The team gets an excellent springboard for the start of the SPL with the pace that comes from competitive games and no series of friendly fixtures can replace that. The thought of a return to training matches with multiple substitutions is not one that appeals.
At leas we won’t have long to wait for the anticipation of next season to begin. The SPL fixture calendar is to be revealed on June 17.