Aldred insists there’s only one team in Lanarkshire for him...
AFTER a long summer of courting Tom Aldred via social media, Motherwell supporters would no doubt have been horrified to see one of the heroes of last season’s Scottish Cup run linked with a move to Hamilton.
Thankfully for them, the defender was posing once more in the claret and amber this week rather than the red a n d w h i t e o f t h e i r Lanarkshire rivals.
And as Aldred gears up to make his Fir Park return against Martin Canning’s men this afternoon, he had a simple message about the likelihood of him ever turning out for the Accies.
“I was never going there,” Aldred said.
“I did have some options in Scotland, but I wanted to come back to Motherwell.
“I was only here for a short period, but I see the club going forward. If it was Scotland, it was always going to be Motherwell.
“I was always hopeful I’d be back. I had a great period here for five or six months on loan. But I felt there was still work to be done – personally and for the team.
“It was a no- brainer to come back. I know the club, the staff, the players and the area.
“For me to come back was a simple decision really.”
Aldred is looking forward to linking up with his team- mates once again, and he is especially savouring the chance to play alongside Peter Hart ley for the first time.
“I never got the chance to play with Pete last season as he was injured,” he said. “But it will be good to do that.
“I am looking forward to building partnerships again. I am fit and ready to go. It will be an exciting game to get back into.”
M a n a g e r S t e p h e n Robinson was delighted to welcome Aldred back to the club, and with another defender, Christian Mbulu, signing up yesterday to i n i t i a l ly join Stephen Craigan’s reserve ranks, the Northern Irishman says he is happy to run with the squad he now has.
That means his focus now turns to keeping the key assets that he already has, with midfielder Allan Campbell linked with a move to Hibernian to fill the midfield void left by the departure of John McGinn.
While Robinson thinks that the 20- year- old still has a way to go before he can be considered in the same bracket as Aston Villa’s new signing, he is adamant that if he is to leave the club at any stage, it will only be when a club matches Motherwell’s valuation of the player.
“What did John McGinn go for, £ 2.8 million?” Robinson said. “I didn’t know that had been suggested, and Lenny never suggested that last week when I spoke to him!
“But listen, Allan is a very good footballer and we missed him last week. We missed that competitive edge.
“When you take him out of the team and you take Ch a r l e s D u n n e o ut of the team, people then realise just how good players they are.
“It would be no surprise at all if that was the case, but we have valuations on every single player and as far as I’m concerned, Allan going anywhere.
“I don’t think that Allan has done the same that John McGinn has done yet, and I don ’ t t h i n k t hey are entirely similar.
“They have attributes that are similar, but I think there are different parts to John’s game than there is to Allan’s.
“Allan is still very much starting out on his career while John has been doing that for two or three years now.
“So, he’s got the potential to go and make good money and b e a ver y , ver y good footballer.
“He’s got a lot of growing and learning still to do, and he will continue to do that knowing the boy he is.” isn’t
‘‘ It was a nobrainer to come back. I know the club, the staff, the players and the area