Source: FOOTYMAD
Motherwell Drop Aberdeen Complaint
With bigger things to worry about, Motherwell have withdrawn their complaint to the SPL over Craig Brown's move to Pittodrie Motherwell have agreed to withdraw their complaint to the SPL over Craig Brown's acrimonious departure to Aberdeen. The Dons were accused of "gross discourtesy" for persuading Brown and assistant Archie Knox to leave Fir Park last week without seeking permission to talk to the pair from the Lanarkshire club. But the Fir Park side have informed the SPL that their grievance has ended following "constructive discussions" with the Pittodrie club. Motherwell had appeared to call for sanctions for what they claimed was a breach of the SPL rules and they vowed to pursue the matter "vigorously". But, 48 hours before they face their former management team in an SPL game at Pittodrie, they let the matter drop. A statement read: "During a difficult time for Scottish football and when clubs are about to enter discussions on a major league re-structuring, we are of the view that it is not in anyone's best interests for two Scottish Premier League clubs to be involved in an ongoing dispute. Following constructive discussions with Aberdeen, we have reached an agreement to draw a line under the matter and have formally withdrawn our complaint to the SPL in relation to their employment of Craig Brown and Archie Knox. We have always maintained a good working relationship with Aberdeen and look forward to that continuing in future. We strongly believe this action is in the best interests of the club and will make no further comment on the matter. We will now focus all our resources on employing a new management team to take the club forward." Motherwell's complaint was withdrawn following "constructive" discussions between Aberdeen chief executive Duncan Fraser and Motherwell vice-chairman Derek Weir. Fraser said: "As I stated at the start of the week Aberdeen and Motherwell have always enjoyed an excellent relationship. At no point was the integrity of Craig or Archie questioned by either club and we believe that we acted accordingly throughout. Both Aberdeen and Motherwell have played significant roles working with others on the challenges facing Scottish football and want to draw a line under the events of the last few days. I am grateful to Derek Weir and the Motherwell board for working with us to resolve any issues and we as a club will make no further comment on this matter." Motherwell lost their first game after Brown's departure when they suffered a 2-1 defeat by Hearts on Tuesday night. But caretaker manager Gordon Young believes their below-par performance was down to their enforced absence of almost a month and backed his players to prove they have not been derailed by the loss of their management team. He said: "We have people who are too well versed in the game to feel sorry for themselves. The initial shock has gone now. That's a week and like anything in life, once you get over the disappointment, you then have the focus. The players are far too professional to allow that to affect them now. They want to stay top six, they want to be in the top four. We've now had a game under our belt and arranged a reserve game yesterday against Celtic, which I'm grateful to Danny McGrain for. That's meant that in the last 48 hours, all of our squad have had 90 minutes. If you take the inactivity for three and a half weeks and the training, we are far better prepared for Saturday." Motherwell are expected to take an unusually large travelling support to Aberdeen as some fans look to vent their anger against Brown. While the squad have no hard feelings towards Brown, Young hopes the extra motivation and support derived from his departure can fire his team. He went on: "It's going to put extra people on the gate. It's going to put more exposure on the club and the players. Through all of this, they are the most important people at the club, then it's the fans. If all of these people get extra exposure and it gives them extra drive, then we can't knock it." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
