The
2017–18 season was
Motherwell's thirty-third consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football and the fifth in the newly established
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
, having been promoted from the
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
at the end of the
1984–85 season. Motherwell also competed in the
League Cup and the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...](_blank)
in both finals
Season Review
On 2 June, Motherwell announced that they had signed
Alex Fisher
Alexander Anthony Fisher (born 30 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for side Bath City.
Club career Oxford United
Born in London and educated at Abingdon School, Fisher played youth football with Oxford ...
and
Gaël Bigirimana
Gaël Bigirimana (; born 22 October 1993) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NIFL Premiership club Dungannon Swifts and the Burundi national team.
He began his professional career at Coventry City in 2011 and ...
, from
Inverness C.T. and
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
respectively, on two-year contracts
and that
James McFadden
James Henry McFadden (born 14 April 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a forward who now works as a football pundit.
McFadden started his playing career with Motherwell, where he came to prominence ...
had left the club.
Three days later Motherwell announced their third signing of the season,
Craig Tanner on a two-year contract from
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
.
Motherwell announced their fourth signing of the summer on 6 June, goalkeeper
Trevor Carson from
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
on a three-year contract.
Russell Griffiths
Russell John Griffiths (born 13 April 1996) is an English footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for AFC Telford United.
Career Everton
Griffiths began his career with Everton's academy and, after brief loan spells with non-league Northw ...
became Motherwell's sixth signing of the season on 21 June, signing a one-year contract with the club after his
Everton contract had expired.
Also on 21 June,
Keith Lasley
Keith William Robert Lasley (born 21 September 1979) is a Scottish retired football midfielder, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. During his playing career, Lasley played for Motherwell, Plymou ...
hung up his boots and became the club's new assistant manager.
Motherwell announced their seventh summer signing on 30 June,
Charles Dunne from
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
.
On 5 July, Motherwell announced the signing of
Cédric Kipré
Cédric Kipré (born 9 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Ipswich Town on loan from club Reims. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team.
Club career Leicester City
After coming th ...
on a one-year contract after his release from
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
.
Craig Clay left the club on 17 July to sign with
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
.
Young striker
George Newell signed a one-year contract with Motherwell on 24 July,
with
Ellis Plummer joining on 2 August.
On 14 August, it was announced that
Stephen McManus
Stephen David McManus (born 10 September 1982) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is a first-team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic.
McManus, who played as a centre-back, was a product of Celtic's youth acad ...
had decided to retire from professional football and take up a coaching role with Motherwell.
6 weeks into his one-year deal, Cédric Kipré signed a one-year extension with Motherwell on 23 August.
On 31 August, transfer deadline day,
Ben Heneghan
Benjamin John Heneghan (born 19 September 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Port Vale. He has been capped by the England C team.
Heneghan spent his youth with Everton and Stoke City, though did n ...
joined
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
for an undisclosed fee,
whilst
Jack McMillan joined
Livingston on loan until January 2018,
and
P. J. Morrison joined
Clyde on loan until January 2018.
Liam Grimshaw returned to the club from
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
,
and
Peter Hartley joined the club on a one-year loan deal.
On 13 October, manager
Stephen Robinson
Stephen Kern "Steve" Robinson (born October 26, 1955) is an American former NASA astronaut.
Education
He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, where he achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. Robinson graduated from Campolindo High ...
extended his contract until 2020, and midfielder
Allan Campbell signed a new contract until 2021.
On 14 December, Motherwell announced that they had agreed to the transfer of
Louis Moult
Louis Elliot Moult (born 14 May 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Moult, a prolific goal scorer in Stoke City's academy and reserve side, appeared in a Premier League game in March 2010. After this Moult strug ...
to
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
for an undisclosed fee on 1 January 2018.
On 16 December, Motherwell announced the signing of
Gennadios Xenodochof
Gennadios Xenodochof (; born 30 May 1988) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.
Club career
He started his career from the youth teams of OFI Crete. He was sent on loan to Cretan clubs Ergotelis and Olympiakos Cherson ...
on a short-term contract until the middle January 2018.
On 3 January, Motherwell signed
Curtis Main
Curtis Lee Main (born 20 June 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Ayr United.
Main previously played in the Football League and the Football Conference for Darlington, and spent three seasons with Middl ...
to an eighteen-month contract from
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
.
On 5 January, Motherwell announced that
Steven Hammell
Steven Hammell (born 18 February 1982) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is the head of academy coaching at Celtic. Hammell played as a left-back in almost 500 league games across two spells with Motherwell, either side of a st ...
would retire at the end of January to take up the role of the club's Academy Director.
On 9 January, Motherwell signed
Nadir Çiftçi on loan from
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
until the end of the season.
A week later, 16 January, Motherwell signed
Tom Aldred on loan until the end of the season from
Bury.
Following the completion of his loan deal,
Jack McMillan signed for
Livingston permanently on 19 January 2018.
On 23 January, Peter Hartley made his loan move permanent, signing until the summer of 2020.
On 26 January,
Alex Fisher
Alexander Anthony Fisher (born 30 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for side Bath City.
Club career Oxford United
Born in London and educated at Abingdon School, Fisher played youth football with Oxford ...
left the club to sign for
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...
.
On 31 January, transfer deadline day, Motherwell signed
Stephen Hendrie on loan from
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
until the end of the season,
whilst
Adam Livingstone joined
East Fife on loan for the remainder of the season.
On 13 April, Motherwell announced that defenders
Cédric Kipré
Cédric Kipré (born 9 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Ipswich Town on loan from club Reims. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team.
Club career Leicester City
After coming th ...
,
Charles Dunne and
Richard Tait
Richard Graham Tait Commander of the British Empire, CBE (born 22 May 1947) is a British journalist and Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University. He had been a member of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporat ...
all had extended their contracts until the summer of 2020, whilst
Ryan Bowman
Ryan Michael Bowman (born 30 November 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Cheltenham Town.
Career Carlisle United
Bowman was born in Carlisle, Cumbria. He started his career with hometown club Carlisle ...
had extended his contract until the summer of 2019.
On 16 May, Motherwell announced that midfielders
Liam Grimshaw and
Andy Rose
Andrew Patrick Rose (born 13 February 1990) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. Born in Australia, Rose played for the youth teams of Bristol City in England before moving to the United States ...
had signed new one-year contracts with the club.
On 21 May, Motherwell announced that
Russell Griffiths
Russell John Griffiths (born 13 April 1996) is an English footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for AFC Telford United.
Career Everton
Griffiths began his career with Everton's academy and, after brief loan spells with non-league Northw ...
,
Ellis Plummer,
Deimantas Petravičius,
Luke Watt and Dylan King would be leaving the club at the end of their contracts, whilst
Tom Aldred,
Stephen Hendrie and
Nadir Çiftçi would be returning to their parent clubs after their loan deals had expired.
Shea Gordon,
Adam Livingstone,
Barry Maguire,
James Scott James Scott may refer to:
Entertainment
* James Scott (composer) (1885–1938), African-American ragtime composer
* James Scott (director) (born 1941), British filmmaker
* James Scott (actor) (born 1979), British television actor
* James Scott (Sh ...
,
P. J. Morrison, Jason Krones, Jordan Armstrong, Shaun Bowers and Alfredo Agyeman were all offered new contracts.
Transfers
In
Loans in
Out
: Moult's transfers was announced on the above date, but were not finalised until 1 January 2018.
Loans out
Released
Trial
Squad
Left club during season
Friendlies
Competitions
Premiership
League table
Results by round
Results summary
Results
Scottish Cup
Final
League Cup
Group stage
=Table
=
=Matches
=
Knockout stage
Final
Challenge Cup
Squad statistics
Appearances
, -
, colspan=14, ''Players away from the club on loan:''
, -
, colspan=14, ''Players who left Motherwell during the season:''
Goal scorers
Disciplinary record
See also
*
List of Motherwell F.C. seasons
Notes
References
External links
Motherwell F.C. WebsiteBBC My Club PageMotherwell F.C. Newsnow
{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Motherwell F.C. Season
Motherwell F.C. seasons
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...