New Motherwell boss gives us a fresh start and wants to bring 'fun' back, says defender

Motherwell vice-captain Stephen O’Donnell says everybody at the club has a fresh start under new boss Michael Wimmer, who wants to bring fun back to football.

Wimmer, 44, came in last week following a recruitment process sparked by the resignation last month of boss Stuart Kettlewell, which ultimately also saw assistant Stephen Frail depart.

The German has come in with his own ideas, and O’Donnell says it’s important that everyone is on the same page, as they prepare for Saturday’s trip to Dundee United.

He said: “First impressions have been really good. We don’t know too much about him, but he has come in, is pretty clear about what he’s wanting, and hopefully he brings back a smile.

“He’s said that he wants to try and bring some fun, and hopefully we can do that and it will start to translate on a Saturday.

“It’s nice to have that clean slate. When a manager leaves, in good or bad circumstances, it’s always a difficult time at a club.

“With a new manager coming in, it gives everyone a fresh start. You saw that in training on Tuesday, the team was together for the first time.

“There was an energy, an enthusiasm, and hopefully that will continue for the remainder of the season.

“It has only been a short time, and hopefully we start to see that coming into the games.

“At the end of the day games is where we get judged, and we need to try to implement that.

“The ideas are clear, what he wants from us, what he starts to expect from us, and as the days go on, we’ll get better.”

O’Donnell added: “It doesn’t look as if he’s ripping up everything, so that’s always a good start. I’ve had it when managers have come in before and ripped up everything, which is obviously hard to do mid-season – you can’t bring in your own players