Motherwell make position clear on Lennon Miller amid Rangers + Celtic speculation as Hoops fan issue addressed

Brian Caldwell says Lennon Miller will only leave Motherwell if the deal is right for the club, amid speculation surrounding the teenager.

Rangers and Celtic have been freshly linked with the midfielder, alongside Liverpool, with the academy product beyond 50 games in claret and amber. Amid injuries to captain Paul McGinn and vice-captain Stephen O’Donnell, the 18-year-old has also assumed captaincy duties.

His continued form has sparked constant speculation since he became a regular in Stuart Kettlewell’s side last season. Ahead of the January transfer window, chief executive Brian Caldwell says Miller will only leave should the deal fit the Fir Park side, with the star currently on Scotland U19s duty.

He said in an address with club media: “There's been a lot of press speculation. Stuart made him captain a few weeks ago with injuries too. He's taken that without any difficulties whatsoever. It just shows his temperament. For a boy of 18 to be able to handle all that without being phased in any way is just testament to his character.

“I think we're all realistic to understand that there's going to come a time where Lennon will move on. He's an extremely talented young player that we all see every week and see the talent coming out of him. There will come a time when that happens. That time will only come when the deal is right for the club and the player.

“We've got a really good relationship with his agent. We speak on a regular basis. I actually spoke to him last week just where we're at with things. We're not in a rush to sell Lennon Miller. We don't need to sell Lennon Miller. It's a case of being in the right time. It's not just about us.

“It's all about Lennon too. Lennon's playing games every week which is the most important thing for his development. If he continues to develop the way he's developing, we understand that for his own development, he'll probably need to go to a higher level, potentially. We just have to bide our time and make sure whenever that day does come, that it's the right deal for the club and player.”

Caldwell has also addressed overcrowding in the away end during Motherwell’s recent Premiership defeat at Fir Park against Celtic. He added: “It appears that some of the Celtic supporters who had tickets in the upper tier of the stand, migrated to the bottom tier. It did cause them to be blocking some of the stairwells.

“However, the decision was taken by the police and safety team that it would actually cause more of a safety issue trying to move a number of people than to leave them as is. I know from getting the reports in that, for example, paramedics were able to get down the stairwells that were congested. We actually were 200 under capacity for some reason, so 200 people had a ticket but didn't turn up.

“So there was plenty of capacity for seats. It was just slightly unfortunate the way it worked out with the back setting number of rows, people standing on the stairwell, which isn't ideal. Again, these are decisions that sometimes you have to show a wee bit of common sense and understand that it does potentially cause more of a safety issue if you're trying to move a load of people than leave them where they are.”