Source: FOOTYMAD
Brown Worried About The Size Of His Squad
It is too late to get any new faces for their Europa League appearance so Craig Brown is looking to his current squad to be ready for anything the table topping Iclandic side can produce Motherwell manager Craig Brown is confident his players will be match-ready for their game against Breidablik in Thursday's Europa League opener - but he is worried about the size of his squad. Motherwell have lost Jim O'Brien and Giles Coke since last season while loan players John Ruddy, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Michael McGlinchey have all returned to their clubs. But the team that started yesterday's 2-1 pre-season friendly win at Ayr - which followed wins over Brechin and Forfar - featured just one summer signing, former Charlton goalkeeper Darren Randolph. Only Tom Hateley, who came off the bench after recovering from a minor knock, is likely to come into the reckoning for the first leg of the second qualifying round at Fir Park as Brown looks to young players to fill his bench. Motherwell face a side sitting on top of the Icelandic league after 11 games. While the side are part-time, they feature a number of full and under-21 internationalists in their squad. But Brown is confident the training regime of former Rangers, Manchester United and Scotland assistant Archie Knox will atone for the disparities in competitive action. Brown said: "We're not going to use that as an excuse if things don't go well. Our boys have been training very well for 19 sessions and three games and you should be fit after that, particularly as the man in charge of training, Archie Knox, is vastly experienced. If there is anyone better for doing pre-season for top players, I've yet to see it." Brown has declined to sign trialist striker Carlos Gazapo while former Tranmere midfielder Chris Shuker remains an option, but the Motherwell manager admits adding anyone before Thursday's clash is unlikely. He said: "We're as ready as we can with the squad we've got. We would like a bigger squad. We haven't the funds to replace players. We've got the funds to get a new striker, that's all at the moment unless we sell a player or Mr (John) Boyle produces his wallet. But it's hardly fair to ask him that, the generosity of the chairman at this football club has been incredible. We're the same as everyone else - Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Aberdeen. Every manager I talk to says the budget is horrendous. Last year our wage bill was too high for the income, the television money was less. So we have a new budget which was a lot less than it was, and that has an effect. We need provision at the back, midfield and up front. We need three players minimum to bolster the squad and put pressure on the players we've got." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba Net
