As St. Mirren looks at Blair Spittal, Motherwell needs to secure a crucial asset.
Not that there was a lot of optimism that there would be faxes flying (why do they still use faxes?) between Fir Park and SFA HQ as Motherwell attempted to pull off some deadline-busting business this morning as Stephen Frail took over press duties.
Despite his excellent play, Rangers’ Adam Devine is being targeted for a season-long loan, but with Stephen O’Donnell and Callan Elliott already in place, it may not be necessary to add another right-back.
In regards to Kevin van Veen, the fact that Frail at least created an opportunity for the King to return only slightly eased the pain of learning this morning that Hearts, Kilmarnock, and St. Mirren were the teams interested in signing him.
However, his admission that Motherwell is finding it more difficult to compete with teams like Killie, Saints, and Dundee in terms of player salaries dampened my hopes a little.
Then, when I disclosed (in my best Chick Young voice) that Motherwell had thrown the kitchen sink at Groningen to seal the deal, all hope was absolutely destroyed, only to discover that Killie and St. Mirren had thrown the entire kitchen.
The kind of mutiny that hasn’t been witnessed in the stadium since Chapman’s ceased providing the pie stalls will occur if Van Veen ends up winning at Fir Park on Saturday, but in the blue and white stripes of Killie.
As much as I would have loved to see the big guy back in the claret and amber, protecting Blair Spittal’s future is perhaps a more important task for Motherwell right now.
I’m not one to brag about myself, but when I was asked to participate in preseason pullouts in the summer, I identified Spittal as Motherwell’s star player for the coming season, the one who would step out from behind Van Veen as the team’s creative spark.
So it has turned out, as his seven goals and six assists have proven essential despite the fact that he has occasionally been forced to cover at wing-back and has been pulled here, there, and everywhere.
When I was covering Partick Thistle a few years back, I began to routinely study Spittal, and it was obvious that this was a quality player. Furthermore, he was undoubtedly a positive impact at the club and the epitome of professionalism.
He became captain of Ross County, where he furthered his leadership development, and I felt that when Motherwell signed him, luring him down from the Highlands, it was a genuine coup.
It was concerning to see that St. Mirren is now (understandably) attempting to force him to move to Paisley, especially because it appears that historically similar teams like the Saints are now able and ready to pay Motherwell more than Motherwell does these days.
With the team’s still-precarious league position, fans’ thoughts are understandably focused on the here and now when it comes to ins and outs, but the management team should be well ahead of schedule with preparations for the upcoming campaign. And the focal point of those plans ought to be him.
A post-haste offer ought to be made to Spittal, if one hasn’t already been made. It can only be due to the ridiculous situation that Motherwell is still unsure of which level they will play at next season that he has been permitted to reach the final six months of his contract without an extension having been agreed upon.
Hopefully, Spittal isn’t thinking about that at the moment, and the team is making sure he knows how valuable a member he is to the group. Naturally, there have been better players who have come and gone, but he sets a high standard for the team both on and off the field, so his departure would be felt deeply.
It would be especially painful if he ended up moving to help Motherwell’s opponents, St. Mirren included, who have primarily profited from signing players from Fir Park in recent years.
It was a pleasure to watch him score his second goal against Alloa recently. Although I was sorry that the match report from that game did not feature my “Spit Double” title idea, he once again demonstrated his value by crossing the ball for Theo Bair’s goal against St. Johnstone on the weekend.
We will thus discuss the implications of whatever temporary solutions the next few hours may bring, as well as what they imply for the remainder of the season, in next week’s episode. Securing one of their important men’s long-term future must then become a priority in the larger scheme of things.