Cadden’s treble yell as Motherwell starlet gets set to be a century boy

IT may have been only four years ago, but a lot has changed during Chris Cadden’s first 99 games in a Motherwell shirt.

The 21-year-old is four years older for a start, the memories of his debut as a substitute in a 4-1 win over Hearts still vivid in his mind. He’s the only Well player remaining from that squad.

But as he faces hitting the century mark this weekend for the Fir Park outfit when they go to Dens Park on Scottish Cup duty, it’s hard to avoid how Cadden has transformed himself into a pivotal first-team star.

“Is it my 100th game is it? I was actually going to ask when it was! That’s alright isn’t it?” asked Cadden when told of the landmark. “I’m delighted about it. When I was growing up I just wanted to play one game for Motherwell never mind 100. It’s magic, hopefully I can get a wee win.

“All the family will be there. They are there every game. The Cadden bus goes every week! It’s a nightmare for Carol [in the office] to get them all tickets. They are there every week supporting us. It’s normally my dad, my uncle, my mum, my brother [Nicky] when he’s not playing, my girlfriend, her mum and dad, her brother.

“My first game was Hearts here. I got brought at 17 for the win bonus, touched the ball three times, gave it away four! I’m happy to do it and it’s an honour to do it at the club I’ve grown up with.”

Cadden has been at Motherwell since he was just a young boy and it’s clear the connection between player and club. A local lad who has grown up in the Lanarkshire town, the significance of bringing a cup back home is not lost on him, even if he wasn’t even born the last time it was achieved.

It could very well be third time lucky, or indeed he hopes so. In 2016 Cadden captained the Motherwell U20s to their first ever Youth Cup, while he returned to Hampden in November only to lose in the Betfred Cup final to Celtic.

“I won the Youth Cup with Motherwell and then the cup final last year, so this one would be nice. The Scottish Cup would be a bit more special. It would be magic,” he said.

“I know what it means to the club for a cup run. You are a legend if you go on and do things in the cup. We’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens.

“We know what a run in a cup can do. We will be going there full of confidence hoping we can get a wee cup run under our belts again.

“Of course we want to go one better. All the boys had a wee taste of it with the final but we want to go one better. Right now we’re not thinking about that or Hampden, we’re thinking about the games ahead and if we get a good result against Dundee then we will see what happens.”

Motherwell continued their rich start to 2018 on Tuesday night with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over St Johnstone to leap back into the top six. A far cry from the winless run from that cup final to Hogmanay.

Recruiting the likes of Nadir Ciftci and Curtis Main, who grabbed his fourth goal in five games, certainly helps.

And Cadden added: “I’ve always said a team is only as good as your strik-