Steven Hammell painted Motherwell's ground and now wants to make Fir Park a fortress

Steven Hammell knows every nook and cranny of Fir Park having painted the stands, cleaned the terraces and covered every blade of grass as a player.

But now he’s Motherwell manager? His next job is to transform the ground into a fortress. There’s few better qualified than the 40-year-old who, having spent all but two of the last 25 years employed by the club, has guided the Steelmen into third spot in the Premiership with three wins from his first four games in charge.

The latest, a 1-0 victory over Livingston, ended the wait for a first home victory of the campaign. And Hammell said: “We have to make Fir Park a fortress again. A good season is usually based on a good home record. We lost to St Johnstone which wasn’t the plan, so when we are here teams need to understand it will be tough. We need to be making most of our points this season from here.”

Hammell spent two years in the Well academy as a teenager before going on to make 583 appearances for the club across two spells. Latterly he was head of the academy after hanging up his boots before moving into the hot seat after the departure of Graham Alexander last month.

He said: “It’s crazy to think of everything I’ve done here over the years but it’s something I am proud of. I cleaned the stand, painted the stands, picked up rubbish after games, put the covers on the pitch.

“Every team from Under-8s to the first-team I have coached and taken charge of in matches. I think that puts me in a good place for the job I have now. I’m relaxed about being the Motherwell manager.

“I know the enormity of the job here, we want to do well and progress the club. I know how privileged I am to be the manager of this club.

“But I am confident in what we are doing, and with the