Carl McHugh relishing chance on the big stage
New Motherwell midfielder Carl McHugh admits their Betfred Cup clash with Rangers is an example of why he jumped at the chance to move to Scotland.
The 23-year-old signed earlier this month after Plymouth felt they had agreed a contract extension and he cannot wait to get started when Rangers visit Fir Park on Saturday in the revamped group stage.
"Obviously it would be great to test yourself against teams like that," he said. "Rangers will be very strong. You would expect them to be right up there this season when you look at some of the signings they have made.
"It's a great test for us, it's very early and being ready for the league is the main priority, but this is a massive game and it will give us a good yardstick of where we are."
McHugh had earlier revealed he took a wage cut in order to move to Scotland for football and family reasons.
"The opportunity came up quite late in the day and I just felt for myself and my family it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down," the Irishman said.
"You are playing at a lot of really good grounds and good clubs and there's a lot of high-profile games at big clubs.
"It's a great opportunity. Motherwell have competed in Europe a lot over the past five or six seasons and that's a bit of an ambition, to try and be involved in those games this time next year."
Former Chester defender Ben Heneghan, ex-Grimsby right-back Richard Tait and former Leicester forward Jacob Blyth could also make their debuts but Louis Moult (groin) is a doubt.
Rangers will be without Matt Crooks at Fir Park, as the former Accrington player works his way back from ankle surgery, while boss Mark Warburton will slowly integrate his new players over the Betfred Cup group stages.
"It's probably too early for Joey (Barton)," Warburton said. "You will maybe see Niko (Kranjcar) for a short period and then look to introduce both of them on Tuesday in a greater capacity, but a limited amount of time.
"You will see a number of changes on Tuesday and then Friday. We will rotate everyone from the keepers right the way through. The young ones will be included too.
"Wes (Foderingham) will certainly start on Saturday and Matt (Gilks) will come in on Tuesday. Lee Hodson will start on Tuesday, Josh Windass will start on Tuesday."
Rangers have only played one pre-season friendly but they were in a similar situation when they played Hibernian in last year's Petrofac Cup opener in July, and stunned their hosts and Ladbrokes Championship rivals with a 6-2 win.
And midfielder Andy Halliday hopes they can get one over their Premiership opponents at Fir Park.
"It's a similar scenario," he said. "I remember when the draw for the Petrofac was made, Hibs were seen as our closest rivals.
"Outside this building, it was seen as a tough draw for us but it was one we relished. Motherwell has come quite early in our pre-season preparations, and it's a big test for us and we want to get off to a good start.
"I suppose we laid down a marker in terms of the emphatic style we won that game. I suppose it was an eye-opener for everyone else and it just showed that we had been doing in training every single day, we could take on to the pitch. That's what we have tried to do in the last couple of weeks.
"I'm certainly not expecting the same type of result but a win will do."
Source: PAR
