# 1997–98 Motherwell F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Motherwell's 13th consecutive season in the Scottish Premier Division, and their final season before the top division of Scottish Football was reformed as the Scottish Premier League.

## Squad

    As of match played 9 May 1998
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| | Scott Thomson | GK | (1966-11-08)8 November 1966 (aged 31) | loan from Hull City | 1998 | 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| | Stevie Woods | GK | (1970-02-23)23 February 1970 (aged 28) | Preston North End | 1994 | | | |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| | Stephen Craigan | DF | (1976-10-29)29 October 1976 (aged 21) | Blantyre Victoria | 1995 | | | |
| | Kevin Christie | DF | (1976-04-01)1 April 1976 (aged 22) | East Fife | 1997 | | | |
| | Greig Denham | DF | (1976-10-05)5 October 1976 (aged 21) | Youth team | 1994 | | | |
| | Brian Martin | DF | (1963-02-24)24 February 1963 (aged 35) | St Mirren | 1991 | | | |
| | Eddie May | DF | (1967-08-30)30 August 1967 (aged 30) | Falkirk | 1994 | | | |
| | Steve McMillan | DF | (1976-01-19)19 January 1976 (aged 22) | Troon | 1993 | | | |
| | John Philliben | DF | (1964-03-14)14 March 1964 (aged 34) | Doncaster Rovers | 1986 | | | |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| | Simo Valakari | MF | (1973-04-28)28 April 1973 (aged 25) | FinnPa | 1996 | | | |
| | Éric Garcin | MF | (1965-12-06)6 December 1965 (aged 32) | Toulouse | 1997 | | 13 | 1 |
| | Billy Davies | MF | (1964-05-31)31 May 1964 (aged 33) | Dunfermline Athletic | 1993 | | | |
| | Lee McCulloch | MF | (1978-05-14)14 May 1978 (aged 19) | Youth team | 1994 | | 51 | 2 |
| | Shaun McSkimming | MF | (1970-05-29)29 May 1970 (aged 27) | Kilmarnock | 1994 | | | |
| | Ian Ross | MF | (1974-08-27)27 August 1974 (aged 23) | Youth team | 1995 | | | |
| | Mickey Weir | MF | (1966-01-16)16 January 1966 (aged 32) | Hibernian | 1996 | | | |
| | Stefan Lindqvist | MF | (1967-03-18)18 March 1967 (aged 31) | Dalian Shide | 1997 | | 6 | 1 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| | Owen Coyle | FW | (1966-07-14)14 July 1966 (aged 31) | Dundee United | 1997 | | | |
| | Tommy Coyne | FW | (1962-11-14)14 November 1962 (aged 35) | Tranmere Rovers | 1993 | | | |
| | Eliphas Shivute | FW | (1974-09-27)27 September 1974 (aged 23) | Alemannia Aachen | 1997 | | 24 | 3 |
| | Dougie Arnott | FW | (1964-08-05)5 August 1964 (aged 33) | Pollok | 1986 | | | |
| | Willie Falconer | FW | (1966-04-05)5 April 1966 (aged 32) | Celtic | 1996 | | | |
| | John Hendry | FW | (1970-01-06)6 January 1970 (aged 28) | Tottenham Hotspur | 1995 | | | |
| | Mats Lundgren | FW | (1970-04-19)19 April 1970 (aged 28) | Unattached | 1997 | | 0 | 0 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| | Scott Howie | GK | (1972-01-04)4 January 1972 (aged 26) | Norwich City | 1994 | | | |
| | Franz Resch | DF | (1969-05-04)4 May 1969 (aged 29) | Admira Wacker | 1997 | | 5 | 0 |
| | Rob Newman | DF | (1963-12-13)13 December 1963 (aged 34) | loan from Norwich City | 1997 | 1998 | 15 | 0 |
| | Marko Tuomela | DF | (1972-03-03)3 March 1972 (aged 26) | FF Jaro | 1997 | | 0 | 0 |
| | Gunnlaugur Jónsson | DF | (1974-11-29)29 November 1974 (aged 23) | ÍA | 1997 | | 2 | 0 |
| | Mario Dorner | FW | (1970-03-21)21 March 1970 (aged 28) | Admira Wacker | 1997 | | 4 | 0 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 28 July 1997 | MF | Franz Resch | Admira Wacker | Undisclosed |
| 28 July 1997 | FW | Mario Dorner | Admira Wacker | Undisclosed |
| 10 September 1997 | FW | Eliphas Shivute | Alemannia Aachen | Undisclosed |
| 24 October 1997 | DF | Gunnlaugur Jónsson | ÍA | Free |
| 31 October 1997 | MF | Éric Garcin | Toulouse | Undisclosed |
| 14 November 1997 | DF | Marko Tuomela | FF Jaro | Undisclosed |
| 27 March 1998 | MF | Stefan Lindqvist | Dalian Wanda | Undisclosed |
| 31 March 1998 | FW | Mats Lundgren | | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| 12 December 1997 | DF | | Rob Newman | Norwich City | 8 March 1998 | |
| 27 March 1998 | GK | | Scott Thomson | Hull City | End of season | |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 17 October 1997 | MF | Franz Resch | Darlington | Undisclosed |
| 17 October 1997 | FW | Mario Dorner | Darlington | Undisclosed |
| March 1998 | GK | Scott Howie | Reading | Undisclosed |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| January 1998 | GK | | Scott Howie | Coventry City | March 1998 | |

### Released

| Date | Position | Name | Joined |
| 2 November 1997 | DF | Gunnlaugur Jónsson | Kongsvinger |
| 14 December 1997 | DF | Marko Tuomela | Tromsø |
| 30 June 1998 | MF | Mickey Weir | Retirement |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier Division | 2 August 1997 | 9 May 1998 | Matchday 1 | 9th | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 64 | −18 | 025.00 |
| Scottish Cup | 24 January 1998 | 17 February 1998 | Third Round | Fourth Round | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 025.00 |
| League Cup | 9 August 1997 | 10 September 1997 | Second Round | Quarterfinal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 033.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 11 | 10 | 22 | 55 | 73 | −18 | 025.58 |
Last updated: 9 May 1998 Source: Competitions

### Premier Division
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Fir Park Corner

#### 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 |
| Ground | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | D | D | L | L | L | L |
| Position | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

#### Results

Source:

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 39 | |
| 7 | Dundee United | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 37 | |
| 8 | Dunfermline Athletic | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 37 | |
| 9 | Motherwell | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 64 | −18 | 34 | |
| 10 | Hibernian (R) | 36 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 30 | Relegation to the First Division |

### League Cup
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 9 May 1998

### Appearances

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier Division | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | SCO | Scott Thomson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | SCO | Stevie Woods | 42 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | NIR | Stephen Craigan | 14 | 0 | 9+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Kevin Christie | 25 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Greig Denham | 21 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Brian Martin | 33 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Eddie May | 32 | 0 | 20+5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stephen McMillan | 41 | 1 | 33+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Philliben | 15 | 0 | 10+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | FIN | Simo Valakari | 31 | 0 | 24+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| | MF | FRA | Éric Garcin | 13 | 1 | 7+4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Billy Davies | 19 | 2 | 12+5 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Lee McCulloch | 30 | 2 | 6+18 | 2 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Shaun McSkimming | 15 | 1 | 11+1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Ian Ross | 25 | 1 | 16+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Mickey Weir | 23 | 4 | 13+5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | SWE | Stefan Lindqvist | 6 | 1 | 5+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | IRL | Owen Coyle | 43 | 16 | 34+2 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| | FW | IRL | Tommy Coyne | 41 | 15 | 33+1 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | NAM | Eliphas Shivute | 24 | 3 | 12+11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Dougie Arnott | 10 | 1 | 3+4 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Willie Falconer | 29 | 4 | 21+1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | John Hendry | 13 | 1 | 10+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Motherwell but left during the season: ||||||||||||
| | DF | AUT | Franz Resch | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Rob Newman | 15 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ISL | Gunnlaugur Jónsson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | AUT | Mario Dorner | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Ranking | Position | Nation | Number | Name | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | | | Owen Coyle | 11 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| 2 | FW | | | Tommy Coyne | 14 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 3 | MF | | | Mickey Weir | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | FW | | | Willie Falconer | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | FW | | | Eliphas Shivute | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | | | Billy Davies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | | | Lee McCulloch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | | | Brian Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | | | Steve McMillan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | | Stefan Lindqvist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | | Ian Ross | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | | | Dougie Arnott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | | | Éric Garcin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | | | John Hendry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | | Shaun McSkimming | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | | | | Own goal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 46 | 4 | 5 | 55 |

### Clean sheets

| Ranking | Position | Nation | Number | Name | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | GK | | | Stevie Woods | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier Division | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| | DF | Stephen Craigan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | Kevin Christie | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| | DF | Greig Denham | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| | DF | Brian Martin | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| | DF | Eddie May | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | Steve McMillan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| | DF | John Philliben | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | Simo Valakari | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| | MF | Éric Garcin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | Billy Davies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | MF | Lee McCulloch | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | Shaun McSkimming | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | Ian Ross | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| | MF | Mickey Weir | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | Owen Coyle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | FW | Tommy Coyne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | FW | Eliphas Shivute | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | Willie Falconer | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| | FW | John Hendry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||
| Players who left Motherwell during the season: ||||||||||||
| | DF | Franz Resch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | Rob Newman | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | Gunnlaugur Jónsson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 75 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 91 | 5 |