Michael Wimmer names how many Motherwell signings could be made this summer as horizons go beyond UK

Michael Wimmer does not expect Motherwell to have an extensive recruitment drive in his first window as manager.

The Fir Park club are in the bottom six and a victory against St Johnstone last weekend put them on the cusp of Premiership safety. Winning against Dundee coupled with a defeat for Ross County against Hearts would seal Premiership safety for another campaign, currently standing at seven points clear with 12 left to play for.

Andy Halliday and Calum Ward are the latest to commit their futures after Tom Sparrow, Luca Ross, Callum Slattery and Stephen O’Donnell all recently penned extended contracts. Aston Oxborough, Ewan Wilson and Tawanda Maswanhise are amongst those to have signed extensions into next season across this campaign, and while several players will exit Motherwell come the end of May, 18 remain under contract for next term.

How many players will Motherwell sign in transfer window

With that information in mind, Wimmer is happy with where the squad is at, looking at up to four transfers for the time being. He said: “I like to start the pre-season with the majority of the squad so I can work with them. If I start with 10 guys then I have no pre-season as they are coming back later to me and then I have no pre-season.

“So yes, we have now 18 here, 18 contracted players at the moment. I think it's a very good situation. I think it confirms what I said before. We signed Tom Sparrow. We looked first at our own squad, what we have, so we signed Tom Sparrow. We signed Andy Halliday because, yes, I like him. He's a very good player. He's a very good character. He's very important for the dressing room. He understands my style. He communicates to the players. He's a role model for the young players.

“So for me, I'm very happy that Andy has extended. And Calum, since I'm here, Calum also impressed me. He's a brilliant guy. He's a hard worker. He's a good competition for the other goalies. Yes, so I always say it's good to know what you have before you bring something you don't know what you get. So I'm happy for the situation. And I would not expect that we have such a big transfer window. But I'm looking forward to the transfer market. And I think one, two, three, four transfers we will do.”

With his managerial and coaching experience spanning across Germany plus Austria, Wimmer could tap into markets outside the UK, but will look to maintain a strong domestic core. He explained: “I think, of course, the possibility abroad in Europe, in Germany or Austria is possible. I know many players over there.

“I've worked with many players so it's also a possibility. I think it's also important that the guys you bring in should be better and it's also important to know the culture, to know the tradition, to know the league. Our eyes are open for everything, for each country. But I also want to have the majority from Scottish players or UK players that know the league and are not surprised if they come into the league and they play the Premiership. So we are open for this but I know what the majority should be, in the UK.”

Key Motherwell injury update

A positive piece of injury news is the return of captain Paul McGinn to running on the training pitch ahead of the Dundee game. He has had an injury hit season, playing 13 times, the last of those appearances coming against Hibs in January. Wimmer knows what he has in the skipper despite not seeing him play live and won’t rush him back before the end of May.

Wimmer added: “I have not seen him on the pitch, yes, but I know him from video clips and also from games. Before I come into this club, I watched many games, so I know what the performance is from Paul. My experience now in the chats with him is he's a brilliant guy with experience. He's a quiet guy, but he's a big character in the dressing room. Everybody has respect. He's now running. I think there are only 20 days, we will not risk that he wants to impress me or do something and then get an injury back. I think Paul has so much experience that he knows what his body says. And we will see if it is a chance or not a chance. But no rush from my side.”