Motherwell announce former player Steven Hammell as club's new manager

Motherwell have named former defender Steven Hammell as the club’s new manager.

The 40-year-old, who made almost 600 appearances for the club as a player, steps into the dugout full time following the departure of Graham Alexander in the wake of the side’s exit from the Europa Conference League.

Hammell was in charge for the Premiership opening weekend win over St Mirren and the home defeat to St Johnstone last week.

Chairman Jim McMahon said more than 70 applicants put themselves forward for the role but Hammell, who was previously academy head at Fir Park, was their preferred choice.

He will officially kick off his tenure on Saturday with a trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen.

“It is an honour for me to be given the responsibility as manager of this wonderful club and something I am very excited about,” Hammell said.

“The last two weeks have given me an even bigger appetite for it and I am determined and ambitious to take this team on and put my own stamp on it.

“I hope I can continue to get my message across and give our supporters a team that will entertain them and a team that they can see are giving their all.”

He added: “I think we have some hugely talented players in this group and it’s now my job to get the best from them. I also have first-hand knowledge of the exciting young players at the club and we will integrate them into the first-team environment when they are ready.

“In addition, I think the players need some help with some new faces. As well as taking the team and planning my application, I have been busy identifying potential targets, should I be successful in getting the job. Now that I have, one of my first tasks will be to look to strengthen our options across a couple of areas.”