Christmas comes early for Cadden
STEPHEN ROBINSON claims Chris Cadden reacted to his first Scotland call-up like a child on Christmas morning. The Motherwell winger was added to the squad for the endof-season friendlies in Peru and Mexico after Ryan Fraser and Matt Ritchie pulled out. And boss Robinson hopes the 21-year-old’s excitement results in a strong display from the youngster in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final. ‘I’m delighted for him,’ said Robinson. ‘His enthusiasm just rubs off on everybody. He’s one of the lads we’ve brought through and he gives Motherwell Football Club its identity. ‘He’s like a young boy on Christmas Day going into the final. ‘I don’t mean that to his
detriment or that he’s nervous. It’s the excitement to be part of it. Hopefully he can show how talented he is on the day. ‘Trevor Carson has been called up as well (for Northern Ireland). Motherwell don’t get many players called up for international squads. For the club itself and for the individuals, it’s probably the highest honour in the game. ‘James McFadden (Scotland assistant) is close to the club and has watched Chris. I would love to see him get his chance. ‘I remember Lawrie Sanchez took a so-called scratch side away for one of these summer tournaments and it turned out to be the start of something special for Northern Ireland. ‘It was the same with Michael O’Neill when he went to South America. It wasn’t all the main players — but some of them broke through. They’ve got the shirt and it’s a real chance for Chris to stake a claim.’ Preparing for their second cup final of the season against Celtic, Robinson challenged players like Cadden to place themselves in the shop window by lifting the Scottish Cup. ‘Motherwell is a selling club,’ he added. ‘I didn’t come into the club with any illusions we wouldn’t be a selling club. What has helped is that we’ve been relatively successful with the cup runs and finishing seventh. ‘The revenues in League Two and non-league in England are going up and we’re getting blown away by clubs offering two and three times what we can offer.’