Where are Motherwell in manager hunt? And is Neilson a contender?
What's the process & who is making decisions?
A three-man sub-committee of Motherwell's executive board will draw up a shortlist, conduct interviews and make their managerial recommendation. That is much the same process that brought in Wimmer after Stuart Kettlewell's departure earlier in the year.The main man at the helm, and the driving force behind the scenes at Fir Park, is chairman Kyrk Macmillan. The fashion businessman, whose father-in-law is on the board of Hertha Berlin, is originally from East Kilbride and has watched games at Fir Park with his own father and grandfather for the past 30 years.He will be assisted in the hunt by chief executive Brian Caldwell and digital marketing chief executive Greg Anderson, who is also one of the key figures in the Well Society, the majority shareholding group who own the club.
What are they looking for?
The board sub-committee will follow the same procedure that led them to Wimmer, using data and metrics to judge how candidates align with the club's values, such as youth development.And there is no reason for them not to do that. After all, Wimmer's shock exit was not down to results or performances.Things were looking promising under the ex-Austria Vienna boss, who spent eight years working in Nurnberg's academy and three years working at Bundesliga level with Stuttgart, including an impressive interim spell in charge of the first team.If the board land on a manager with a similar CV, they will be doing well. But they badly need some stability, given this is their fourth search for a manager in just three years.
So who is in the running?
Former Hearts and Dundee United manager Robbie Neilson's CV is among those to have dropped on Macmillan's desk.Neilson's last job was with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL, America's second tier, and it is understood a return to the Scottish game would be very much appeal following successful spells at Tynecastle and Tannadice. After guiding Hearts to third place in the top flight in 2015-16, Neilson moved to MK Dons before being appointed United manager. He guided them to promotion in the Covid-curtailed 2019-20 season, before leading Hearts to another top-flight promotion and third-placed Premiership finish in a second spell at Tynecastle. But there are a number of candidates who could stand out to the Fir Park club. Some are currently in employment and would potentially cost a compensation fee. Others, such as Neilson, are between clubs.
Take Tony Docherty. Until very, very recently, he was the Dundee manager. After steering them to a top-six finish, he was sacked at the end of his second season after only securing their Premiership status on the final day of the campaign.His side were very good going forward, but very porous defensively. Consistency was a problem, but their attacking flair, allied to Docherty's fine first season, may tempt Motherwell to consider him.Another familiar face is Scott Brown - but could Motherwell tempt the Ayr United boss into his first crack at the Premiership as a manager? Seen as upwardly mobile in coaching circles, Brown made his disappointment at failing to get Ayr promoted from the second tier clear. His experience as a player, added to his contacts, plus his coaching credentials with Fleetwood and in the Championship, might fit if Motherwell are looking for a young, Scottish manager.Or what about Temur Ketsbaia?The Georgian impressed when interviewed after Kettlewell's departure but was ultimately passed over in favour of Wimmer. Most recently coach of the Cypriot national team, Ketsbaia also coached his own national side and has led both AEK Athens and Olympiacos. His wide experience of the European game and his contacts book would make him an attractive proposition, as would his knowledge of the British game, having played for Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Dundee.
Have your say
Motherwell fans, what do you think?Is the delay in naming a replacement for Wimmer a concern? And who would you like to see take charge?Let us know here
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Jets training camp: A 'new era' in New York as Aaron Glenn looks to build a 'physical, violent outfit'
Quincy Williams stepped off the practice field and on to the podium where, with an Alabama lilt, he detailed his 'mission' in 'this new era of the New York Jets.' 'I want everything,' Williams said on Thursday morning. 'I want to lead my team to a place that we haven't been in a while.' A few feet below the microphone, his feet carried a message, too. The linebacker, 28, wore bright green cleats but near the laces was an image of bright red lips and pearly whites. A smile? On the evidence of these early days of training camp, more an illustration of bared teeth. It has been a punishing start to life under new head coach Aaron Glenn. The Jets are a week into training camp but already the message is being hammered home. 'We want to be a fast, physical and violent outfit,' offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said on Thursday. That much became clear earlier this week, when the Jets took the rare step of re-introducing live tackling into practice. It was evident again on Thursday, when defensive end Eric Watts crushed Breece Hall and a couple of fans nearly came to blows in the bleachers. We're only in July but one father didn't take kindly to his view being obstructed by an autograph hunter. 'Oh, I love this right here,' said Williams, who has not done live tackling in practice since college. 'At OTAs Coach Glenn already said we're going to be physical during training camp. I said: 'You talking my language!' The hope for Williams? It all pays off come September and he can achieve his mission of ending the joint-longest playoff drought in America's major leagues (14 seasons). But all the brutality could make some coaches wince. Not here. 'I love it,' defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. 'It's a fine line. Everybody's worried about getting hurt and this is football. But… AG is doing a hell of a job, trying to prepare us for exactly what we're going to see.' Engstrand echoed those sentiments. No matter that more physicality means more time in the firing line for Garrett Wilson – just a couple of weeks after the star receiver signed a four-year, $130 million contract extension. 'Garrett absolutely needs to get tackled!' the offensive coordinator said. 'I firmly believe, with all my heart, that what we're doing is the right thing to do. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Quincy Williams (@thequincywilliams_) 'The best way to get good at something is to do it. So it would be negligent upon the coaching staff to not do that.' On Thursday, Glenn prowled around the practice field dressed all in black. He carried a whistle in his mouth and wore a shirt that read: 'Grind' All week players have been lining up to draw a line in the sand between this regime and the last. Some have barely attempted to disguise their digs at former head coach Robert Saleh, who was sacked last October - midway through another miserable season. It was obvious back in January, when Glenn was introduced at this facility, that he possesses all the self-assurance and strength of personality required to be a head coach. Glenn wasted little time before putting his stamp on this team. He told Aaron Rodgers his services were longer required and began laying the foundations for a new era with Justin Fields under center. His impact on the practice field is evident already, too. 'I see it in our competing level,' special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said on Thursday. 'When you talk about what AG stresses and his personality, I think it becomes very, very infectious. 'That starts to spread and you start to see the juice from guys at practice, the competitive talking – I won't use the word I wanted to use – on the field, I think that all signifies what AG is bringing. The juice they've been able to play with has been really cool to watch.' All that remains to be seen? Whether Glenn can build the playbook and the roster to drag New York back towards the big time. Whether the Jets can find that 'juice' once the season starts. Williams wants the New York Jets defense to be 'consistently feared... every single week' On Thursday, there were flashes of brilliance from Fields but also plenty of evidence that, offensively, the Jets still have a lot to work on. Even if there is no doubting the talent of Wilson and running back Hall. It was a privilege to watch their respective duels with Sauce Gardner and Williams up close. 'I love it - every single day when the coaches be like, 'We got that money on the line,' I need all of it,' Williams said. 'Anytime we go pass rush like today or do a tackle drill, I got to have the best running back in the league up.' This session belonged to the defense. No question. And no matter that Wilks' group remain a work in progress, too. 'We're definitely a long way away from where we need to be, but I see the progress each and every day,' he said. 'I like the direction in which we're going.' The next stop on that journey? 'To be consistently feared,' Williams said. 'Every single week.'
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Fenerbahce sign defender Skriniar from PSG
GDANSK, July 31 (Reuters) - Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar has left French champions Paris St Germain to join Fenerbahce on a four-year contract, the Turkish club said on Thursday. Fenerbahce said that Skriniar will receive an annual salary of 8.0 million euros ($9.13 million). The transfer fee was not disclosed. Skriniar moved to the Istanbul-based club on loan from PSG in January before the move was made permanent on Thursday. "Milan Skriniar... has completed a permanent move to Fenerbahce SK in Türkiye" PSG said in a statement. The 30-year-old Skriniar, who joined PSG from Serie A club Inter Milan in 2023, helped Fenerbahce to finish second in the Turkish top flight last season. Fenerbahce are managed by Jose Mourinho. ($1 = 0.8760 euros)
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ineos carer worked at Manchester United before ‘anti-doping questions'
The Ineos Grenadiers head carer who left the Tour de France earlier this month after it was revealed he had been called to interview by the International Testing Agency (ITA) over alleged links to convicted German doping doctor, Mark Schmidt, worked for Manchester United in 2024. Sources at Manchester United have confirmed to the Guardian that David Rozman spent one month working at Old Trafford last year as part of what is called a 'knowledge exchange' within Ineos Sport. Rozman is described on the Ineos Grenadiers website as 'one of the longest-serving members of our staff' who 'takes on the important role of head carer'. The Slovenian spent four weeks last year working alongside United's soft tissue therapists as part of an exchange programme introduced after Sir Jim Ratcliffe became co-owner at Manchester United. In a statement issued to the Guardian on 24 July, Ineos said Rozman had spoken 'informally' to the ITA in April when he was told he was not under investigation but added: 'Following recent media allegations, David Rozman has now received a request from the ITA to attend an interview. Accordingly, he has stepped back from race duties and has left the Tour.' The allegations stem from a recent documentary made by ARD in Germany, which made claims linking Rozman to Schmidt but did not name him, with further media reports including alleged texts between the Ineos staff member and Schmidt from June 2012, when the team were racing as Team Sky. The documentary and subsequent reports were said to have drawn on court transcripts and in-court reporting during the Aderlass hearings, which resulted in Schmidt being jailed in 2021 for orchestrating a doping ring revolving around cross-country skiers and multiple cyclists between 2012 and 2019. Dave Brailsford, the head of Ineos Sport, who returned to the Tour de France this July after his sojourn at Manchester United, declined to comment on the Rozman allegations during the race, but was a leading figure in directing performance at Old Trafford. Also seconded to Carrington, United's training ground during refurbishment of their laundry facilities, was an Ineos Grenadiers team bus, for use by kit staff at Old Trafford. British Cycling has confirmed to the Guardian that Rozman was also present, working for Team GB, at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. His spell at Manchester United pre-dates the ARD documentary or any contact with the ITA. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion In the statement on 24 July Ineos Grenadiers said: 'The team has acted responsibly and with due process, taking the allegations seriously whilst acknowledging that David is a long-standing, dedicated member of the team. The team continues to assess the circumstances and any relevant developments, and has formally requested any relevant information from the ITA. 'To date the team has received no evidence from any relevant authority. In response to the team's request for information, the ITA has advised the team that it cannot share any further information, due to legal and confidentiality restrictions. Both David and the team will of course co-operate with the ITA and any other authority. The team reiterates its zero-tolerance policy and is unable to comment further at this time.' Ineos Grenadiers did not respond to further requests for comment.
