6 Motherwell next manager candidates as Kevin Thomson and Simo Valakari among potential options

Motherwell pulled the plug on the Graham Alexander regime on Friday after the Lanarkshire club were knocked out the Europa Conference League in a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Sligo Rovers. Alexander was appointed in January 2021 and helped them escape relegation in his first campaign in charge however patience had quickly been running thin within the Well fanbase since after a run of only five wins in their last 23 competitive outings.

A club statement read: "Graham asked to speak with us early on Friday morning, and everyone agreed that it would be best to make a change. We asked Graham to reverse our fortunes when he arrived eighteen months ago and he did that, before a really solid start to his first full season at Fir Park laid the foundations for what ultimately led to a fifth place finish and European football.

“However, things haven’t gone as well for a spell in 2022 and although the timing is not ideal, we hope a change will bring about fresh impetus for everyone ahead of the 2022/23 season. I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Graham and Chris for all their hard work and effort and wish them every success in their future careers.”

The Steelmen are an ambitious club who haven't been shy to try new ideas on and off the pitch in recent seasons and have looked south in the past with the appointments of Ian Baraclough and Stephen Robinson. Record Sport runs the rule over five possible contenders for the Fir Park vacancy as Motherwell get ready to move quickly to find a replacement ahead of their Premiership opener against St Mirren on Sunday.

Ex-Well star Coyle is currently in charge of Queens Park as they embark in their first season in the Scottish Championship after back to back promotions. And