# 2016–17 Motherwell F.C. season

The 2016–17 season is Motherwell's thirty-second consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football and the fourth in the newly established Scottish Premiership, having been promoted from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 1984–85 season. Motherwell will also compete in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

## Season review

Following the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, Brett Long, Jack Leitch, David Clarkson and Wes Fletcher were released by the club following the end of their contracts, whilst loan players Connor Ripley and Morgaro Gomis returned to their parent clubs. Also at the end of the 2015–16 season, first team players Steven Hammell, Stephen McManus, Craig Samson, Keith Lasley, Craig Moore, James McFadden, David Ferguson, Ben Hall and Scott McDonald were all offered new contracts, as were Under 20 players Dylan Mackin, Robbie Leith, Jack McMillan, Ross MacLean and Ryan Watters. Lasley signed a new one-year contract on 22 June 2016.
On 2 June 2016, Motherwell were drawn into Group F of the 2016–17 Scottish League Cup, resulting in matches against Rangers, Annan Athletic, East Stirlingshire and Stranraer at the end of July. On 5 June 2016, Motherwell announced their first 4 pre-season friendlies, with another two to be confirmed at a later date. Steven Hammell signed a new two-year contract with Motherwell on 29 June, with Scott McDonald signing a new one-year on 1 July 2016.
On 9 July 2015, Motherwell announced that assistant manager Steve Robinson had left the club to take up the vacant Oldham Athletic managers job.
On 7 December 2016, Ross MacLean signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Motherwell, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2019.

### Transfers

On 23 June 2016, Motherwell announced their first signings of the season, with Ben Heneghan, Richard Tait and Jacob Blyth all joining the club. Motherwell announced Dean Brill as their fourth summer signing on 27 June. Two days later, 29 June, Stephen Pearson left the club and returned to the Indian Super League with Atlético de Kolkata. On 5 July, Motherwell announced the signing of Carl McHugh on a free-transfer after his Plymouth Argyle contract had expired. Craig Clay became Motherwells sixth summer signing on 10 August, signing a two-year contract.
On 15 August 2016, Louis Laing joined Notts County on loan until 16 January 2017.
On 31 August, transfer deadline day, Motherwell saw the departure of Marvin Johnson to Oxford United for an undisclosed fee, and Luke Watt to Stranraer on loan until January 2017. Also on the 31st, Motherwell signed Ryan Bowman on a two-year contract from Gateshead for an undisclosed fee, and Luka Belić on a six-month loan deal from West Ham United.
On 14 September, Lee Lucas, who had been on trial early in the summer, signed a short-term deal with the club until January 2017.

### January Transfers

On 1 January 2017, Motherwell announced that Dom Thomas had moved to Queen of the South on loan until the end of the season.
On 26 January, Motherwell signed midfielder Elliott Frear from Forest Green Rovers, with Russell Griffiths joining the club on loan for the remainder of the season from Everton the following day. Also on the 27th, Luka Belić loan came to an end, Dean Brill was released by the club, Dylan Mackin joined Alloa Athletic on loan for the remainder of the season, and Zak Jules joined until the end of the season from Reading.
On 31 January 2017, Motherwell signed Sunderland goalkeeper Oliver Pain on loan until the end of the season and Shea Gordon to the U20's, whilst Luke Watt joined East Fife for the remainder of the season.

### February

On 2 February, Stephen Pearson returned to the club, signing a contract until the end of the season.
On 28 February, manager Mark McGhee was sacked by the club, with Steve Robinson being put in temporary charge.

### March

On 15 March, Robinson was given a permanent contract as the club's manager. On 23 March, Kieran Kennedy left the club by mutual consent.

## Squad

    As of match played 20 May 2017
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Craig Samson | GK | (1984-04-01)1 April 1984 (aged 33) | Kilmarnock | 2015 | 2017 | 42 | 0 |
| 13 | Russell Griffiths | GK | (1996-04-13)13 April 1996 (aged 21) | Loan from Everton | 2017 | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 31 | Oliver Pain | GK | (1997-10-28)28 October 1997 (aged 19) | loan from Sunderland | 2017 | 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | P. J. Morrison | GK | (1998-01-01)1 January 1998 (aged 19) | Academy | | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Richard Tait | DF | (1996-03-24)24 March 1996 (aged 21) | Grimsby Town | 2016 | 2019 | 31 | 1 |
| 3 | Steven Hammell | DF | (1982-02-18)18 February 1982 (aged 35) | Southend United | 2008 | 2018 | 574 | 5 |
| 4 | Ben Heneghan | DF | (1993-09-19)19 September 1993 (aged 23) | Chester | 2016 | 2018 | 43 | 0 |
| 6 | Stephen McManus | DF | (1982-09-10)10 September 1982 (aged 34) | Middlesbrough | 2013 | 2018 | 155 | 6 |
| 15 | Joe Chalmers | DF | (1994-01-03)3 January 1994 (aged 23) | Celtic | 2015 | 2017 | 32 | 0 |
| 21 | Zak Jules | DF | (1997-07-02)2 July 1997 (aged 19) | Loan from Reading | 2017 | 2017 | 10 | 1 |
| 25 | David Ferguson | DF | (1996-03-24)24 March 1996 (aged 21) | Academy | 2013 | 2017 | 16 | 0 |
| 30 | Jack McMillan | DF | (1997-12-18)18 December 1997 (aged 19) | Academy | | | 15 | 0 |
| 33 | Barry Maguire | MF | (1985-12-02)2 December 1985 (aged 31) | Academy | | | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Adam Livingstone | DF | (1998-02-22)22 February 1998 (aged 19) | Academy | 2008 | | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 7 | Lionel Ainsworth | MF | (1987-10-01)1 October 1987 (aged 29) | Rotherham United | 2014 | 2017 | 127 | 23 |
| 8 | Carl McHugh | MF | (1993-02-05)5 February 1993 (aged 24) | Plymouth Argyle | 2016 | 2018 | 22 | 2 |
| 12 | Chris Cadden | MF | (1996-09-19)19 September 1996 (aged 20) | Academy | 2013 | 2018 | 69 | 7 |
| 14 | Keith Lasley | MF | (1979-09-21)21 September 1979 (aged 37) | Plymouth Argyle | 2006 | 2017 | 485 | 23 |
| 17 | Elliott Frear | MF | (1990-09-11)11 September 1990 (aged 26) | Forest Green Rovers | 2017 | 2019 | 15 | 1 |
| 18 | Lee Lucas | MF | (1992-06-10)10 June 1992 (aged 24) | Swansea City | 2016 | 2017 | 11 | 0 |
| 20 | Craig Clay | MF | (1992-05-05)5 May 1992 (aged 25) | Grimsby Town | 2016 | 2018 | 39 | 1 |
| 26 | Allan Campbell | MF | (1997-07-04)4 July 1997 (aged 19) | Academy | | | 7 | 1 |
| 27 | Ross MacLean | MF | (1997-03-13)13 March 1997 (aged 20) | Academy | 2014 | 2019 | 8 | 0 |
| 32 | David Turnbull | MF | (1999-07-10)10 July 1999 (aged 17) | Academy | 2016 | | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Jake Hastie | MF | (1999-03-18)18 March 1999 (aged 18) | Academy | 2016 | | 3 | 0 |
| 36 | Shea Gordon | MF | (1998-05-16)16 May 1998 (aged 19) | Stalybridge Celtic | 2017 | | 4 | 0 |
| 88 | Stephen Pearson | MF | (1982-10-02)2 October 1982 (aged 34) | Atlético Kolkata | 2017 | 2017 | 142 | 24 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 9 | Louis Moult | FW | (1992-05-14)14 May 1992 (aged 25) | Wrexham | 2015 | 2018 | 76 | 36 |
| 11 | Ryan Bowman | FW | (1991-11-30)30 November 1991 (aged 25) | Gateshead | 2016 | 2018 | 24 | 2 |
| 19 | Jacob Blyth | FW | (1992-08-14)14 August 1992 (aged 24) | Leicester City | 2016 | 2018 | 9 | 0 |
| 24 | James McFadden | FW | (1983-04-14)14 April 1983 (aged 34) | Academy | 2015 | 2017 | 123 | 44 |
| 35 | Dylan Falconer | FW | (1999-05-23)23 May 1999 (aged 17) | Academy | | | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | Scott McDonald | FW | (1983-08-21)21 August 1983 (aged 33) | Millwall | 2015 | 2017 | 215 | 74 |

### On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | SCO | Craig Moore (on loan at Ayr United) |
| 23 | MF | SCO | Dom Thomas (on loan at Queen of the South) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 28 | DF | SCO | Luke Watt (on loan at East Fife) |
| 29 | FW | SCO | Dylan Mackin (on loan at Alloa Athletic) |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Louis Laing |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Marvin Johnson (to Oxford United) |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Dean Brill |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Kieran Kennedy |
| 21 | FW | SRB | Luka Belić (loan return to West Ham United) |
| 42 | MF | SCO | Josh Moore |

## Competitions
### Premiership
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Ross County | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 46 | |
| 8 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 41 | |
| 9 | Motherwell | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 46 | 69 | −23 | 38 | |
| 10 | Dundee | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 38 | 62 | −24 | 37 | |
| 11 | Hamilton Academical (O) | 38 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 35 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | L | D | D | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | L |
| Position | 4 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: See Results

#### Results
### League Cup
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RAN | MOT | STR | ANN | EST |
| 1 | Rangers (Q) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | Motherwell (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round | 0–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 3 | Stranraer | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | | — | 0–3 | — | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Annan Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | — |
| 5 | East Stirlingshire | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 | | 0–3 | — | — | 0–2 | — |

#### Knockout stage
### Challenge Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances

    As of match played 20 May 2017
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Scottish Premiership | Scottish Premiership | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | Scottish League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Craig Samson | 40 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Richard Tait | 31 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Steven Hammell | 31 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Ben Heneghan | 43 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Stephen McManus | 31 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Lionel Ainsworth | 35 | 4 | 10+20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Carl McHugh | 22 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Louis Moult | 34 | 18 | 30+1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1+1 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Ryan Bowman | 24 | 2 | 11+13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Chris Cadden | 42 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 2 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Russell Griffiths | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Keith Lasley | 34 | 0 | 26+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | SCO | Joe Chalmers | 13 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Elliott Frear | 15 | 1 | 11+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | WAL | Lee Lucas | 11 | 0 | 6+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Jacob Blyth | 9 | 0 | 1+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Craig Clay | 39 | 1 | 31+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Zak Jules | 10 | 1 | 6+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | SCO | James McFadden | 6 | 2 | 0+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | SCO | David Ferguson | 10 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | SCO | Allan Campbell | 7 | 1 | 6+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Ross MacLean | 8 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | SCO | Jack McMillan | 15 | 0 | 9+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | SCO | Jake Hastie | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | NIR | Shea Gordon | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | SCO | Adam Livingstone | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | FW | AUS | Scott McDonald | 40 | 11 | 34+1 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 88 | MF | SCO | Stephen Pearson | 11 | 1 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players away from the club on loan: ||||||||||||
| 23 | MF | SCO | Dom Thomas | 7 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | SCO | Dylan Mackin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Players who left Motherwell during the season: ||||||||||||
| 11 | MF | ENG | Marvin Johnson | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |

### Goal scorers

    As of match played 20 May 2017
| Ranking | Nation | Position | Number | Name | Scottish Premiership | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | | 9 | Louis Moult | 15 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 | FW | | 77 | Scott McDonald | 9 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | MF | | 12 | Chris Cadden | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | MF | | 7 | Lionel Ainsworth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | MF | | 11 | Marvin Johnson | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | MF | | 8 | Carl McHugh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | | 24 | James McFadden | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | | 11 | Ryan Bowman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | | | | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | DF | | 2 | Richard Tait | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | | 20 | Craig Clay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | | 88 | Stephen Pearson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | DF | | 21 | Zak Jules | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | | 26 | Allan Campbell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | | 17 | Elliott Frear | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 46 | 1 | 9 | 56 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of match played 20 May 2017
| Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| GK | 1 | Craig Samson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | 2 | Richard Tait | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | 3 | Steven Hammell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | 4 | Ben Heneghan | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | 6 | Stephen McManus | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | 7 | Lionel Ainsworth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | 8 | Carl McHugh | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| FW | 9 | Louis Moult | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | 11 | Marvin Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 11 | Ryan Bowman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | 12 | Chris Cadden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | 14 | Keith Lasley | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | 15 | Joe Chalmers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | 18 | Lee Lucas | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| MF | 20 | Craig Clay | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | 25 | David Ferguson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | 26 | Allan Campbell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | 27 | Ross MacLean | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 77 | Scott McDonald | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| MF | 88 | Stephen Pearson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 67 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 3 |