Stephen Welsh has enjoyed a career resurgence at Motherwell since his summer loan move

In-form defender Stephen Welsh has claimed that his move to Motherwell doesn’t feel like a loan after opening up about a challenging period at Celtic under former boss Brendan Rodgers.

Welsh played just two times for the Hoops during the first half of last season before being farmed out to Belgian side Mechelen where he played 17 times before relocating back to Glasgow. He spent the entirety of pre-season with the Hoops with the hopes of fighting his way back into the squad before eventually making the loan move to Motherwell on deadline day in a deal which runs until the end of the campaign.

The defender upbringing in the Celtic academy has prepared the defender for the possession-based football the Steelmen currently play under Jens Berthel Askou, and it’s fair to say that he’s played a big role in the club’s recent success with Motherwell currently sitting fourth in the Premiership table at the half-way stage.

Stephen Welsh reflects on decision to join Motherwell

Welsh admits discussions with Askou convinced him to relocate to North Lanarkshire this summer. He told the club website: “I saw the plan and vision the manager had.

“He explained it all to me in our first conversations, and when you look at the quality on the pitch and the good guys we have in the dressing room, it’s not really a surprise to see it’s working so far.

“I think we’re fully deserving of our league position. The club didn’t get top-six the last couple of seasons; right now we’re on track for that, but we’re not really looking behind us or anything. It’s just looking to see how many points we can get and see how far we go.”

Motherwell are renowned for playing a possesion-based brand of football which is not renowned for always being successful in Scottish football. However, Welsh believes the team are benefiting from a clear identity which everyone at the football club is buying into. He added: “You can see a few teams in the league struggle, maybe because they don’t have a proper style or way of playing. What the manager and coaches have done is they laid it out to the players; everyone knows exactly what we’re doing. Every single player in every position knows exactly what they should be doing.

“Honestly, if you put a forward player back one position, they would know exactly what they’re doing because we all work together every day. So, you could say there’s maybe a bit of surprise about our league position, but if you’re in the building every day, you’re not surprised. You see training, you watch how hard the boys work and how the manager operates, and it’s just worked.

“It’s been a great few months for me. I’ve loved every minute of it, and I hope it continues. The manager said he signed me because I’ve played this way ever since I was a young boy. I was told when I was young that I needed to play on the halfway line and that I needed to be good on the ball. If you’re not good on the ball, you’re not going to play for Celtic. I feel I’ve managed to bring that into the team.”

Stephen Welsh discusses Celtic struggle and not being wanted by Brendan Rodgers

Since coming through the Hoops academy, Welsh has made 68 appearances for Celtic at senior level while scoring four times. He’s been a part of title-winning teams and has gained experience competing in the Champions League. He was regularly by Neil Lennon, became slightly more of a utlity player under Ange Postecoglou and featured a fair bit during Brendan Rodgers’ first season back before falling completley out of the pecking order at Parkhead.

“The last 12 months have been really good for me,” Welsh explained.

“2024 was a tough year because when you’re not fancied by a manager, it’s not easy. You come into training every day, work hard and nothing happens. There’s not much you can do.”

Welsh has spoken highly about his team at Motherwell that are far outweighing many people’s pre-season predictions. He adds that he’s not shocked at all to see the team competing in the upper echelons of the divisions.

“I firmly believe we’re one of the best teams in this league. We play the best football, we’ve got the best coach and the best defensive structure. We had a good clean sheet run, so it’s not just a myth about our structure. It’s not just luck; it’s by design. That’s the standard now; we need to get better than where we are and look forward.”