Latest news with #MichaelWimmer
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Motherwell boss has 'strong authority', as his Copenhagen gaffer praises appointment
Motherwell have selected a manager with 'strong authority' in Jens Berthel Askou, according to his boss at Copenhagen. Dane Askou, 42, will take up the reins at Fir Park next week, just ahead of pre-season training starting, as he replaces Michael Wimmer, who surprisingly quit so he could return to Germany for personal reasons. Advertisement Copenhagen boss Jacob Neestrup, who former Norwich City defender Askou was assistant to, says the Lanarkshire club have selected a man with many qualities. When appointing Askou, Neestrup said: "He is a coach with a big profile and a strong authority. "He comes with toughness and firm determination to succeed. "He is a man who I believe can make our defence even better, both individually and collectively. "We think he can improve the players. He can help us become an even more competitive team, especially at defending set-pieces. Jens will be responsible for that. Jacob Neestrup was Askou's boss at Copenhagen and is full of praise for the new Well gaffer -Credit:SNS Group "I am looking forward to working with him." Advertisement READ MORE: Motherwell appoint new boss after 'rigorous process' to name Michael Wimmer's successor READ MORE: Sunderland 'preparing' £10m Lennon Miller bid as Black Cats 'quietly confident' of landing Motherwell ace Former Millwall star Askou's qualities were also praised by former Gothenburg midfielder Andreas Pyndt, who now plays for IK Sirius in Sweden, and says Askou was respected by players. He said: "Jens Berthel Askou was an incredibly talented coach from day one. "He had a very clear strategy about the role of all the players, and how we should play. Askou replaces Michael Wimmer at Motherwell, following his shock resignation last month -Credit:SNS Group "He was also a good motivator, and he encouraged me to fight for the team. Advertisement "He used to analyse videos of the players and was very good at pointing out our strengths and where we could do better. He was really determined to get the team and each player to improve. "When it came to set-pieces, he was very strong on that and about how to defend them. "He was respected by the players and I am sure he will be a success in the future."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Askou targets top six for Motherwell with 'dynamic' style
New manager Jens Berthel Askou wants to see "dynamic football" from Motherwell and has revealed aspirations of a top six finish in the Scottish Dane has replaced Michael Wimmer, who left Fir Park at the end of last season after just 12 games in charge."We want to play some dynamic football with players who want the ball, who want to take the initiative, with big intensity," he said."Aggressiveness, discipline, structure. We want to expose the opposition for a lot of positional challenges, not just the long ball in behind."We need to have more layers and more detail in our way of playing, using more dimensions in the game than what Scottish football maybe traditionally has." Askou ended last season as assistant manager at FC Copenhagen, having been in the same post at Sparta former Gothenburg boss aims to "break down barriers" when it comes to style of play, while stressing the importance of a strong team spirit."I expect to see a team that desperately wants to win and wants to show that positive body language. Hopefully, some tempo-filled football, which would be attractive to watch, developing to train and to play, and in the end effective."Askou, 42, is a fan of what Brendan Rodgers has achieved at Celtic and believes Rangers will play "very interesting football" under his old Norwich City team-mate Russell acknowledged that predecessor Wimmer "tried to modernise the game a little bit, have more passes in the team" and wants to use that as a platform for success."I've looked at the club history over the recent years," he added. "If you take the last five years, we've been in the top six once. We've been 3.4 points off on average."If we lift things and do things a little bit better over 33 games, I think it's possible to find (an extra) win and a draw."And then, with respect to the finances in the club, we want to do it sustainably, both financially and football-wise. And see if we can break into the top six and see if we can stabilise the club."We know that it takes time, it takes continuity, which the club hasn't had recently. I'm the third manager in six months, so we need some time to get things in the right direction. "But we also have an interesting opportunity here with possibilities to really form the squad as much as we can."
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Motherwell assistant Koc departs 'with heavy heart'
Ahmet Koc has departed Motherwell "with a heavy heart" to purse an opportunity elsewhere and allow new manager Jens Berthel Askou to choose his own joined the Fir Park club with Michael Wimmer in February and remained in post following the German's exit to Jahn Regensburg last month."I have loved every minute at Motherwell and have taken the club, the staff and the fans to my heart," Koc said."It is with a heavy heart that I have chosen to pursue a different path in football away from Fir Park."I feel it's important Jens has the opportunity to build his own team now for the season ahead while I now also have the opportunity to pursue a different career path in football."As difficult a decision as this has been for me, I will always support the club from afar, and who knows, we may meet again in the future."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Motherwell boss can get a good look at us in packed pre-season, says star
Stephen O'Donnell hopes a packed pre-season schedule can give Motherwell's next manager a good idea of what he has to work with next season. The Fir Park club are yet to appoint a successor to Michael Wimmer, who unexpectedly returned to Germany for personal reasons. Advertisement But Motherwell return for training on Wednesday, June 18, and they're booked in to return to Delden in the Netherlands for their pre-season camp seven days later. The Premier Sports Cup group stages kick off on July 12, with games at Clyde on the opening day, and at Stenhousemuir on July 19, with midweek home matches against Peterhead (July 15) and Morton (July 22). Motherwell last week announced they will round off their summer preparations with a friendly at home to German giants Hertha Berlin on Friday, July 25. O'Donnell reckons that's plenty to get stuck into, and can't wait. He said: 'I just saw the schedule the other day and I think [the Hertha Berlin friendly] is on the Friday after the last Tuesday game [in the Premier Sports Cup], so lots of games for a new manager to get to see his players and see what suits best. O'Donnell says Motherwell's pre-season schedule and Premier Sports Cup group stages will give them plenty of action -Credit:SNS Group 'Hertha Berlin, I don't think you'll get much bigger challenges than that, so that will be a good one. Advertisement READ MORE: Motherwell announce new signing while launching next season's kit READ MORE: Lennon Miller can be a Euro star like Scott McTominay, says Motherwell defender 'More importantly there are cup games, and certainly if we get off to a flier and do well in that, it's a nice end to the pre-season, and hopefully it's off the back of a successful campaign. 'It's always a tough one for managers, when you're the Premiership team, and the others are right up for it, while you're trying to tweak things and adjust, so it becomes a strange position. 'It's good to get the games, you need the games anyway, and we approach them pretty seriously, so we should be in a good position, again. Michael Wimmer unexpectedly returned to Germany for personal reasons, leaving Motherwell searching for a new boss -Credit:SNS Group 'I would have been really keen to see how we did under the old manager, because he had started implementing his things, and hopefully bringing in one or two of his own players, but now that's not the case. Advertisement 'The new manager has these games to get to know his players, in a system that suits him and the players, so it will be exciting. 'Hopefully we can be successful. We have a draw that has been kind to us, there are no big, long journeys. 'We can't complain, hopefully they're good games, good performances, and something to build on for the new season.' Fans won't have to wait long to learn the club's Premiership fixtures, with the schedule for that released on Friday, June 20.
The Herald Scotland
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Motherwell manager worth risk, and why tear down Miller?
The news caught us all a bit off guard. Especially one or two Scottish former pros it seems who were keen on the gig. But after the disappointment of Michael Wimmer's departure, this was exactly the type of appointment the club needed to make to get the juices flowing again ahead of the new campaign. Now, I am not just saying this because he is a foreign coach with a slightly exotic sounding name. But rather because the board have clearly followed the same process that landed on Wimmer's name last time around, which inspires faith that they aren't swayed by factors such as a past history in the Scottish game. Equally, I'm sure that had the best available candidate been a Scot, they would have been appointed. But for clubs in Motherwell's situation, where they have been stuck in a sort of mid-lower table limbo for a few years, I think the era of opting for a 'safe pair of hands' is over. Just look at the reaction to, well, just about every other managerial choice in Scotland this summer. Yes, like any appointment, it could all go horribly wrong, Motherwell could be dragged into a relegation dogfight next season, and there could be an element of being careful what we wished for. But I would rather take the chance of breaking out of the morass of mediocrity by striving to move up the table and perhaps create something special, than be ruled by fear that it may go the other way. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) Life is short, and all that. So let me welcome the (hopefully great) Dane to Fir Park. His CV is certainly an intriguing one. A decent enough playing career as a centre back included a stint at Norwich City, but his coaching journey has taken him to the Faroe Islands (where he won a double with HB Torshavn), his native Denmark (where he managed Horsens and was most recently assistant manager at FC Copenhagen), Czechia (where he was assistant at Sparta Prague) and Sweden (where he managed IFK Gothenburg, no less). He has had some ups and downs along the way, but there are clubs of real European pedigree on that list, and he has tasted a fair bit of success too. Given how tight-lipped they are this weather, I might well be the only journalist in Scotland praising chairman Kyrk McMillan and his board today, but fair play to them for another bold choice. AND ANOTHER THING… As much as I have always believed that club allegiances should be left at the Hampden turnstiles when you're going there to watch the national side, I can't deny there is an extra surge of pride whenever you see a Motherwell player (past, or present) pulling on the dark blue. And actually, it isn't even confined to just Scotland. I well remember the ovation that the great Tommy Coyne got upon his return to Fir Park following the 1994 World Cup where he represented Ireland with such distinction, when the Steelmen took on (tenuous link coming up…) Jens Berthoul Askou's former club, HB Torshavn. Anyway, so it was this week that I was delighted to see Lennon Miller not only represent his country but do so with distinction as he ran the show against Liechtenstein. Now, before all the snidey snipers jump in, I know the level of the opposition. I am not saying that Miller is better than Zinedine Zidane because he caught the eye against the team ranked 205th in the world. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) But ask yourselves this. If it is so easy to stand out in such a game, why wasn't Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson man of the match? Or Serie A winner Billy Gilmour? Or Aston Villa captain John McGinn? Miller outshone all of these wonderful players in the Scotland midfield on the day, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out how impressive that is from an 18-year-old prospect. That didn't stop an army of these 'reply guys' on social media responding to any post praising the performance of Miller by sneering at the level of Liechtenstein, insisting he is worth only £3m or thereabouts (which is, at least, a good couple of million more than where Maurice Ross recently valued him), and their favourite phrase of course, that 'they just don't see it' with the youngster. This wasn't only fans of the larger clubs either, who you might expect at least to hold a snooty attitude towards a player from Motherwell, and who are perhaps emotionally preparing themselves to cope with the fact that he may have moved now beyond their clutches. No, this was coming too from fans of teams of a similar size. Is it jealousy that Motherwell have reared such a talent while their own club has not? That there is about to be a huge cash injection to one of their rivals? Or is it simply that peculiarly Scottish trait of not wanting anyone to get too far above their station? I just don't understand why any Scottish football fan would feel the need to try and tear such a young talent down, or bring him down a peg or two. Particularly when the one person who absolutely isn't getting carried away with the hype is young Lennon himself, who showed remarkable maturity beyond his years once again in his post-match interview. It's all just a bit weird. It was nice though to see many other fans of all sizes of clubs shout these types down, and there were even more Celtic and Rangers fans beseeching their clubs to go out and spend whatever it takes to land him. Miller has done himself proud this week. And he may well have ensured Motherwell are about to hit the jackpot.
