How have 'best team north or south of border' last season lost six in a row?

Published27 October 2026

"Motherwell have been the best football team I've seen this season north or south of the border."

Chris Sutton's description of the Fir Park side last term would have seemed preposterous in any other time or place, but their brand of football under Jens Berthel Askou was mesmeric.

Although they ultimately finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership, but not long before the split they were being talked about as outside title contenders.

Now, they've lost six games on the spin amid their worst league run since Terry Butcher was in charge 23 years ago.

What's gone wrong? Is it time to panic? Or is it part of a rebuilding process?

How do you replace the irreplaceable?

The intricate nature of Motherwell's flow state last season was unplayable at times.

Against Celtic over the festive period, Wilfried Nancy's team were dismantled in a way rarely seen by another Scottish team. Rangers were beaten at Ibrox, St Mirren were demolished in Paisley and countless others struggled to contain them.

At the heart of it was a clutch of players committed to a style of play from Askou which elevated them to new heights.

Central was Elijah Just, an unknown New Zealander who emerged as the heartbeat of the side, linking play, ghosting by players as if they weren't there.

He was supported by Stephen Welsh - who has since gone on to star for Scotland - Elliot Watt and Callum Slattery.

All four departed in the summer, bringing in a substantial sum for the club, but leaving a huge hole. Add Askou's departure for Toulouse, and it left a cavernous gap in a squad about to go into European competition.

Motherwell's promising start in Europe and and an opening league win at Easter Road under new boss Alfred Johansson seems a long time ago.

Out of the League Cup at Stenhousemuir and now just a point off the foot of the table, the Swede's injury-ravaged squad is in desperate need of a win.

"I don't think they have that same level of aggression out of possession as last year," former Celtic and Hibs midfielder Scott Allan told BBC Scotland. "And I think a big part of that is personnel.

"A lot of people always talk about the style on the ball. But when you take away that aggression without it, then it does leave you open. Especially then when you have the replacement of Elijah Just and the quality he had."

'They're not connected the same'

It's easy to point towards the players lost and change of intensity, couple it with results, and suggest it's time for Motherwell fans to panic.

But has it actually been that bad? After all, only a couple of months ago they were giving the Europa League finalists Freiburg a fright over two legs.

This is where the devil is in the detail of their Scottish Premiership statistics.

This season, Motherwell have scored an average of 1.1 goals per game compared to last season's 1.55. Yet, their expected goals (xG) has gone up from 1.48 to 1.6.

They're also averaging an extra shot on target per game at 14.5, while touches in the box and "big chances" are pretty much the same as last year. They're also slightly up on successful passes ending up in the final third.

All of the above perhaps jars with the perception that they have fallen off a cliff.

But what it does articulate is that Motherwell under Askou were a lot more efficient at converting the chances they made.

"They're just not as connected as they were last year," said Allan. "The reason they were connected last year is because they're passive with the ball and building out. Everybody was close together.

"Then they would bring the opposition over to one side of the park and then they would switch the players. It was really hard to play against.

"At the same time, when the other team turned over the ball, if you did give it away, they were out of position."

Is defence the real problem?

A lot of frustration comes from Motherwell's perceived inability to create once their passing gets them to the final third, but the stats point in the other direction.

According to Opta, their average goals conceded has almost doubled from 0.95 per game to 1.8.

With it, expected goals against has surged from 1.24 to 1.76. On average, they face five more shots this term than last, and win almost 5% fewer duels.

No Welsh is probably the biggest factor in this. They've also not had club captain Paul McGinn, while there's a change of goalkeeper to add into the mix with Calum Ward heading to QPR.

In truth, Motherwell are being blown through by a perfect storm of new players, injured players, new manager, lack of confidence and repeated nods to a season that was most likely never ever going to be replicated this campaign, or even ever again.

On the ball, the blind slide rule passes out of defence to break the press have been replaced with pragmatism and patience, and injury has hindered any sort of selection continuity to attempt to replicate the cohesion of last season.

"It's not as if you watch Motherwell and you think, they're really, really poor in all departments. There are signs of performance there," said Allan, with Motherwell at St Johnstone on Wednesday before hosting St Mirren on Saturday.

"That gives you a bit of belief if they can turn it around. It might just take a 1-0 scrappy goal. But at the same time, the foundations have to be that you don't give goals away.

"The manager spoke about that, both boxes. And that is what's killing them at this moment in time."

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Scottish Premiership

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• Published18 June 2023

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Published18 June 2023