Keith Lasley is on another steep learning curve – something he has become quite accustomed to during his time in football.

From leaving behind his job as an apprentice electrician to join ‘Well in 1999, to completing his coaching badges prior to hanging up his boots, Lasley is relentless in his desire to develop and learn.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Keith admits adding in his studies to his role at Fir Park and busy family life will not be easy, though insists his commitment to helping the Steelmen continue their push in the Scottish Premiership remains as strong as ever.

“I’ve always been someone that wants to push myself and I’m not happy just standing still,” he said. “I started my coaching badges when I was still playing and luckily, I managed to make it all the way through to my pro licence which I completed in my last few years of playing – achieving that before I stopped playing had always been an ambition of mine.

“I then took on the job of assistant manager under Stephen Robinson and threw myself into that role.

“I felt as if I hadn’t pushed myself in terms of my education and improvement – I’m hungry to keep doing that. The degree is in sporting directorship, and it takes in pretty much everything the role entails, how it fits into a football club and gives a brilliant insight into how clubs are run top to bottom – I believe I had to take myself out of my comfort zone – I find when I’m pushing myself, I’m at my best.

“As someone who never went to university and left school at 15 to walk out on to a building site as an apprentice electrician, it’s definitely new. It can be hard to juggle, I think I have to be careful and realise that first and foremost my job is the assistant manager at Motherwell, working to help develop the team and win games – that is my bread and butter, and I certainly won’t veer away from that.”

Perhaps more associated with football clubs in England and abroad, the use of a sporting director in Scotland is not quite as common, though in recent times the likes of Rangers, Hibernian, Ayr United and Falkirk have implemented the role with varying degrees of success.

Lasley believes that a sporting director can help bring more stability to a club, though maintains that having the correct people in and around the club is the most important factor.

“I think it has to be done right, a lot of people get caught up in the labels and the names,” he added. “Essentially in any successful structure, the be all and end all is the people within it and not a name tag.

“I do believe a good structure helps, as well as everyone having a clear and defined role within that structure. It can be a sporting director, a technical director, the roles do manifest in different guises.

“In Scotland I think we are playing a little bit of catch up in terms of these models, they have been brought into football to bring a bit more consistency. There’s such a high turnover of players and staff, this role brings a stability – it becomes more of a club strategy where everything is stuck to for a little bit longer than usual.

“We’re probably a bit behind in this country in terms of understanding that and it being as prevalent, but just having a particular strategy is no silver bullet – it’s the people who fill these roles that is the most important factor.

“At Motherwell, because we have a tight group of staff, we do know what is going on in each other’s work daily. Everyone stays in their lanes in terms of getting their job done, but there’s certainly that crossover in terms of encountering each other every day be that on a personal level or there being a few work issues that you think you can help with.

“We are all pulling in the one direction, and I think that is why our club has been relatively successful in recent times.”

During his two-year course, Keith will cover topics such as leading for high performance, strategic operations, innovation and change, governance, and best practice – developing the skills required to take on the role of sports director.

Course alumni include Hearts gaffer Robbie Neilson, his assistant Lee McCulloch, David Weir, and former Germany midfielder Didi Hamann.

As well as familiar names from the world of football, representatives from a wide range of sports across the globe have graduated from the course – presenting a great opportunity to get an insight into how different sporting organisations operate – though it was meetings with his Scottish counterparts that presented Lasley with the opportunity to get an insight into what the course would entail.

“I spoke to Lee (McCulloch) a few times before I signed up to get a feel for it and to learn what the course entailed and chatted to Robbie (Neilson) as well,” Keith added. “The feedback was it was an excellent course but challenging and today I can certainly verify that.

“What I’ve found really rewarding is it is not just football, it is various sports from Aussie rules to basketball and rugby – it’s very much a worldwide course.

“It’s great for me to see how other sports, other countries and other cultures do things and hopefully I can pick good bits out of that to bring back for myself and the club to use going forward.”

The fast-paced nature of football can be put into context when looking at the difference between how Lasley began 2021 and the start of 2022.

Following the departure of Stephen Robinson after the 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the final game of 2020, Keith would take temporary charge of a struggling ‘Well side for 10 days – including the humbling derby defeat at Hamilton.

Looking back on his start to last year, the 42-year-old admits it was the most difficult period of his coaching career, though is delighted at the turnaround in fortunes the Steelmen have experienced following the arrival of the new gaffer.

“When I reflect on it, there was a lot of learning for me personally,” he explained. “From Stephen Robinson moving on and then bridging that gap for the Accies game before Chris and Graham came in.

“You are going to have these times in football, and I think I have come out of it a better coach and a better person as well.

“The gaffer and Chris have done a fantastic job in turning things around, stabilising first and then pushing on this season. For us, it’s never going to just be a linear line in an upwards direction – there’s going to be bumps along the way as we all know – it’s all about how you react to that as an individual and as a club – I think we’ve done that this year well, hopefully we can keep it going.

“I never knew the manager or Chris before they walked into the building, obviously I’d worked hard when I stopped playing to build up that relationship with Stephen Robinson and although I’d been a player under the previous manager, I’d never actually coached beside him – that was my real motivation moving into the role initially, to prove myself that I wasn’t just Keith Lasley the ex-player, but that I could really make an impact on a daily basis.

“As a coach, I want to be the best coach I can be and it was the same when Graham and Chris came in, I wanted to prove as quickly as I could that I can be a real asset and assist as much as I can – that’s what I continue to do every day.”

“It’s just about building relationships, naturally these things take time, but myself, Chris and the manager, along with Hinchy (Craig Hinchcliffe) and the rest of the coaching staff, we’re at our best when we are together, we’re tight and that’s something we are trying to build.

“I want to be doing this for a long time to come, coaching is a passion for me, that and improvement is something I feel really passionately about. I’m ambitious, I want to be as good as I can be and do as good a job for the manager alongside the other coaching staff and push Motherwell as much as we can – we are in a decent position, but we want more and are never satisfied.”

Beginning 2022 in fourth spot in the Premiership table, some ‘Well fans are letting their minds drift towards the possibility of clinching a European place come the end of the season.

Having turned out 20 times in European competition for Motherwell during his playing days, Lasley is well versed when it comes to the atmosphere that comes with those special occasions.

Unfortunately, during the Europa League qualifiers in 2020, Covid-19 restrictions meant that supporters were not permitted inside stadia and as a result the occasion felt somewhat underwhelming in comparison to previous campaigns.

With the landscape now looking much more positive, a chance to sample those special nights at Fir Park and abroad is looking increasingly possible, though Keith insists there is nobody at the club getting carried away.

“It would be absolutely amazing, when I get the chance to sit back and reminisce, my mind goes back to games against the likes of Panathinaikos and Levante,” he smiled. “To have the opportunity to coach at that level would be pretty special.

“So far, the semi final wins against Rangers and Aberdeen at Hampden have been the highlights for me coaching wise. To get the chance to coach in Europe would be fantastic there is no doubt about that, but we are a long way away from that right now.

“If we are still sitting in this position in two or three-months’ time then maybe we can start dreaming about that, but hypothetically it would be great to be involved in.

“We’ve given ourselves a platform, we are certainly not talking about Europe internally, our focus is just on the next game. The fixtures are coming thick and fast following the winter break being brought forward and we need to concentrate on these games.”

This afternoon, Fir Park welcomes supporters for the first time in 2022 for the Scottish Cup fourth round clash with Morton.

Due to restrictions introduced to help prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid 19, the final game of last year against Livingston was played in front of just 500 fans – sparking fears of a return to closed doors matches.

Thankfully, the measures taken and pushing forward the beginning of the winter break seem to have paid dividends and outdoor events were able to resume at full capacity earlier this week.

Lasley is delighted that the team will have the full backing of the loyal ‘Well supporters today and believes that the absence of supporters during the pandemic has emphasised what football is all about.

“I’ve always loved when we play at Fir Park whether that be as a player or a coach, but I think Covid has brought an appreciation across the board as to what football fans bring to a game of football,” said the former ‘Well captain. “We always knew that fans were important, but I think the situation has almost crystalised what football is in this country and that is it’s about the fans.

“Even the mini break and the Boxing Day game with limited numbers, it was so disappointing. You can tell with the players and coaches; we all feel that disappointment and that lull.

“The excitement of having fans being back in the stadium, it has just grown that appreciation for the players and everyone inside the club of why we play – essentially that is for the four or five thousand fans that come every week to watch us.

“That is why we are here, that is why we are pushing ourselves and why we get up every morning and train as hard as we can – I think that has been a really key factor and there is no better feeling, particularly after a win of showing that appreciation and hopefully we’ll have many more opportunities to show that between now and the end of the season.”

First published in the matchday programme – Motherwell v Morton – 22/1/22

2021 was a year that began in bleak circumstances. After a festive season in which many were separated from family and friends, the country was soon heading into a third national lockdown.

The mood was low and having finished 2020 with the departure of Stephen Robinson and a nine-match winless streak, the atmosphere around Fir Park was similarly grim.

There was to be setbacks as the new year began, though the appointment of Graham Alexander galvanised the ‘Well squad and secured Premiership safety.

The second half of the 2020/21 campaign, just like the first, was played out in empty stadiums. It was an extremely difficult experience for players and supporters alike.

Our usual matchday routine became turning on a laptop ahead of kick off to watch the team we love. Seeing the sections of the ground normally filled with colour and noise sitting empty – we had become outsiders.

But then then there were some glimmers of light, and many of us will remember the summer for being the time when the Fir Park gates reopened, and fans made their long-awaited return.

The shoots of recovery had emerged as a limited number of Scotland fans were at Hampden and Wembley as the national team finally ended their excruciating wait to play at a major tournament and then there was 17 July, the day that we returned to Fir Park – 500 days on from the last time we stepped foot inside the place that many of us regard our home away from home – the emotion, the excitement and the noise on that day was truly special.

Every visit since felt like it was a privilege and now as we begin 2022 with uncertainty over when supporters will return to stadiums, that feeling has only intensified.

Stepping into the new year, there are plenty of reason for optimism from a Motherwell perspective however, sitting in fourth place in the Premiership table, harbouring ambitions of competing for a European spot and new arrivals due to check in to Fir Park – 2022 promises to be an exciting year.

January 2021

Keith Lasley took charge of the team for the visit to Hamilton, searching to end a run of eight game without a victory, though the miserable run would continue as Accies eased to a 3-0 victory.

Graham Alexander was appointed as the new ‘Well boss ahead of the trip to St Mirren and the team responded with a much-improved showing in Paisley. Devante Cole opened the scoring, but the new gaffer was denied victory in his first match in controversial fashion when Bobby Madden awarded a penalty when Lee Erwin went down inside the box. Jamie McGrath converted the resulting kick and took the winless streak to 10.

Cole was on target again as Alexander’s side put in a spirited showing against runaway leaders Rangers, though again the boys in claret and amber were unable to hold on to their advantage – Cedric Itten equalising to ensure the spoils were shared.

Liam Polworth was dismissed in the 2-0 defeat at Aberdeen, before ‘Well finally celebrated a victory, defeating Ross County in Dingwall. Oli Shaw had fired the visitors ahead, but Cole levelled early in the second half before Bevis Mugabi’s extraordinary towering header earned a crucial three-points.

The January transfer window brought plenty of activity, with no fewer than eight new signings. Robbie Crawford, Sam Foley and Steven Lawless came in on permanent deals, while Liam Kelly, Tyler Maglorie, Eddie Nolan, Jordan Roberts and Harry Smith joined on loan.

February

Despite ending their long winless run, Motherwell were still heavily involved in a battle at the foot of the Premiership table, therefore it was imperative they followed up the win at County with a run of positive results. They did just that as goals from Cole and Chris Long inside the first 28 minutes had them looking comfortable against Dundee United at Fir Park. The visitors pulled a goal back late on but were unable to force a leveller – ensuring two wins on the spin for ‘Well.

Allan Campbell’s goal at Celtic Park was not enough to help the team from falling to a 2-1 defeat, but the midfielder came up with a precious goal four days later at Rugby Park to earn a 1-0 victory and move Motherwell eight-points above Hamilton at the bottom of the table.

It seemed things were looking up, but back-to-back crushing home defeats against Hamilton (1-4) and St Johnstone (0-3) set off alarm bells and suddenly the relegation dogfight was back on.

A 0-0 draw at St Mirren at least stopped the rot, though the trip to Easter Road in the final game of a busy February was of huge importance.

Against all odds and expectation levels, the team responded with one of their best showings of the season. Roberts linked magnificently with Tony Watt to open the scoring and Cole struck in the first minute of the second half to continue his impressive scoring streak and secure a 2-0 win.

March

The month began with another important victory to help ease relegation fears. Cole bagged a brace and Chris Long was on target as Livingston were defeated 3-1 at Fir Park.

In their last game prior to the split, Motherwell were thrashed 4-1 at Rugby Park – ensuring there was still work to do in the remaining five league matches.

April

The Scottish Cup brought some welcome respite from league endeavours and a handful of supporters managed to find a vantage point to take in the 5-0 victory at Formartine.

Cole grabbed the only goal of the game to defeat St Mirren at Fir Park and all but secure Premiership safety before the focus turned back to cup matters.

Morton travelled to Fir Park with a place in the last-eight of the Scottish Cup up for grabs. A terrible 90 minutes brought no goals, but Stephen O’Donnell netted what looked certain to be the winning goal in the final minute of extra time. In typical Motherwell style however, they would not do things the easy way – Markus Fjortoft equalising two minutes later and send the game to penalties. In the end, Liam Kelly was the hero, saving from Sean McGinty to set up a quarter final clash with Hibernian at Easter Road.

Mark O’Hara’s first half goal was enough to earn victory over Hamilton – the first time ‘Well had won a derby since August 2019 and in turn guarantee a thirty-seventh successive season in the top-flight.

Motherwell visited the capital with a place in the last four of the Scottish Cup up for grabs and despite a sensational late comeback to recover from 2-0 down to level at 2-2, O’Hara and Steven Lawless both missed penalties in the shootout – meaning the Steelmen exited the competition on penalties for the second year running.

 May

 With Premiership survival secure, the pressure was off for the last three games of the campaign. A good showing against Kilmarnock brought a 2-0 victory and for the second time in three matches, the team would battle back from 2-0 down – goals from Chris Long and Devante Cole turning things around to snatch a point at Tannadice.

The curtain came down on the 2020/21 season with a home defeat against Ross County, Sam Foley put ‘Well ahead early on, but Iain Vigurs and Michael Gardyne both netted in the second half to ensure County’s Premiership survival.

As the season ended, several players departed Fir Park, including fan favourite Allan Campbell, Devante Cole and Chris Long, while Connor Shields joined the club on a free transfer from Queen of the South.

June

Graham Alexander continued to bolster his attacking options with the additions of Justin Amaluzor from Maidstone United and Kaiyne Woolery who joined on a three-year-deal after leaving Tranmere Rovers.

Stephen O’Donnell played in all three of Scotland’s European Championship matches, including a superb showing in the 0-0 draw with England at Wembley.

July

Striker Kevin van Veen signed for Motherwell at the beginning of July, and this was followed up by Liam Kelly delighting ‘Well supporters by putting pen to paper on a permanent deal with the club.

Trevor Carson left Fir Park to join Dundee United shortly after the arrival of Kelly, though by the end of the month a further four new faces would be added to the squad including Callum Slattery and Juhani Ojala.

The Premier Sports Cup campaign began with a 1-0 victory over Queen’s Park at Firhill and Fir Park finally welcomed back fans for the 3-2 success over Queen of the South. After a lengthy wait to return to stadiums, 2,000 fans were picked from a ballot to attend, though things did not start well on an emotional day in ML1 as the Championship side scored twice in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 2-0 lead. Motherwell responded however, and goals from Tony Watt, Ricki Lamie and Kaiyne Woolery clinched a dramatic win.

Airdrie sprung a shock by defeating ‘Well 2-0 in the first derby match between the sides since 2007, but the Steelmen did recover to win the group by defeating Annan in their final group stage match.

August

The league season began with a 3-2 defeat at home to Hibernian in an entertaining encounter at Fir Park. Kevin van Veen got the opening goal of the game and Bevis Mugabi headed the hosts 2-1 in front, but Christian Doidge scrambled the ball into the net and Martin Boyle scored from the penalty spot to clinch all three points for the Easter Road side.

Tony Watt scored late on to help Motherwell pick up their first point of the season with a 1-1 draw at McDiarmid Park, but there was disappointment the week later when a poor display at Dens Park ended in a 1-0 defeat and sent Graham Alexander’s side crashing out of the Premier Sports Cup.

Liam Grimshaw finally netted his first goal in claret and amber to seal a 2-1 win at Livingston and the month ended with the first home league win – a 1-0 victory over Dundee courtesy of Watt’s third goal in four games.

Graham Alexander brought in Sean Goss, Sondre Johansen and Jordan Roberts as the transfer window drew to a close.

September

An excellent showing was rewarded with an excellent result as Aberdeen were dispatched 2-0 at Fir Park and despite no travelling fans being inside Ibrox for the league fixture at Ibrox the following week, Kaiyne Woolery silenced the home fans with a second half equaliser to ensure ‘Well left Ibrox with a share of the spoils.

The month ended with Ross County visiting Fir Park and although Motherwell were not at their best, Tony Watt fired home the winning goal 10 minutes from time to ensure a 2-1 win.

After picking up seven points from a possible nine in September, Graham Alexander was named the Premiership ‘Manager of the Month’ – his second monthly award in five months.

October

Hearts defeated ‘Well 2-0 at Tynecastle to start what would be an October to forget. Losses at home to Celtic and away to Dundee United followed, before a controversial 2-2 draw with St Mirren at Fir Park. Tony Watt’s double looked to have set the home side on the way to their first league win in three matches, but Saints struck back through Eamon Brophy. With 12 minutes left on the clock, Sondre Solholm Johansen  was adjudged to have fouled Brophy inside the box, the Saints striker was his initial effort saved by Liam Kelly, though after referee Bobby Madden deemed the Motherwell keeper to have strayed from his line – he made no mistake second time round.

Further misery followed in a Halloween horror show against Rangers, where despite taking the lead, the Steelmen were thrashed 6-1.

November

After only picking up a single point from their last five Premiership matches, a trip to Pittodrie looked to be a daunting prospect for ‘Well, though a superb double from Kevin van Veen sealed another 2-0 win against the Dons and moved the team back up to fifth in the table.

Stephen O’Donnell played a big role for Scotland once again as Steve Clarke’s side booked a World Cup play-off spot by defeating Denmark 2-0 at Hampden and the theme of 2-0 wins continued when goals from Connor Shields and Ricki Lamie saw off Hearts by the same scoreline at Fir Park.

Graham Alexander’s side were enjoying a good run of victories, though they were sent crashing back to earth with a bump when they were thrashed 3-0 at Dens Park in a match where they were second best throughout.

The Sky cameras were in attendance on St Andrew’s Day, with Dundee United visiting North Lanarkshire. Tony Watt scored the only goal of the game early on – a sensational effort from the edge of the box that left Benjamin Siegrist with no chance. The remainder of the game was played out in tropical conditions, but the Steelmen showed tremendous resolve to claim a richly deserved three-points.

December

Motherwell announced the signing of Republic of Ireland U21 international Ross Tierney on a three-year-deal. The 20-year-old will join in January at the start of the winter transfer window.

A hectic month began with a well-deserved point at Easter Road and again, it was Tony Watt who got the goal – moving the striker top of the Premiership scoring charts.

Eight days later, ‘Well took the trip along the M74 to take on Celtic and despite producing a spirited showing, they would leave empty handed. Callum Slattery’s shot rattled the crossbar and Sean Goss was denied brilliantly by Joe Hart, before the hosts scored the only goal of the game in first half stoppage time.

In their final game before Christmas, Motherwell eased past St Johnstone at Fir Park. Dean Cornelius scored his first goal in claret and amber to complete his journey from the stands to starring for the Steelmen and Kevin van Veen netted his fifth goal of the season to secure a valuable three-points.

The Dutch striker was on target again in the 2-1 victory over Livingston in the final game of the year – firing home a sensational free kick to open the scoring before heading home the second with 21 minute remaining in an encounter played out in front of just 500 fans.

The 2021 Christmas Toy Drive was a fantastic success with hundreds of gifts and toys donated to local children.

This year, the MFC Podcast worked alongside Motherwell Athletics Club and Wishaw Wycombe Boys Club to collect toys for Airth Court Temporary Housing.

The incredible generosity of those who supported the Toy Drive will help put a smile on the faces of a number of children in the local area.

Of course, we all look forward to a day that initiatives like this are not required, though while they are, we will do our best to try make a small difference.

With time restrictions and several logistical challenges encountered during the Toy Drive, we were so fortunate to have the support from many selfless individuals, who went over and above to ensure the success of the Toy Drive – we are so grateful for your help.

In addition to the Toy Drive, a fundraising page for mental health charity ‘Tiny Changes’ has currently raised £100. Donations can be made using this link.