Sammon confident of success at Fir Park as Robinson notes raised expectations

Conor Sammon is confident Motherwell are suited to his style as he began a season-long loan from Hearts.

The Republic of Ireland striker, pictured, is manager Stephen Robinson’s sixth signing of the summer.

The powerful 31-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Partick Thistle, where he scored ten goals, said: “I’m just looking forward to getting stuck in here, playing a lot of games, scoring a lot of goals, and just being a part of a successful season.

“The other strikers in the squad are similar – physical, strong and quick, so I definitely think I can fit in and I think my style of play will help me to have a good season here.”

Robinson, who is “delighted” to have added Sammon to his squad, acknowledged raised expectations as Motherwell prepare for their Betfred Cup opener against Edinburgh City tonight.

Well reached the final of both major domestic cup competitions last season only to lose to treble-winners Celtic on both occasions.

The Northern Irishman, who confirmed his club’s rejection of a bid from Grimsby for striker Ryan Bowman, knows eyes will be on Motherwell this season. He said: “They (expectations) are certainly raised, when I speak to people. I don’t know why because we have a very similar budget.

“But success breeds expectation and we have to live with that and when you have been successful it is a good part of the job. We have tried to bring players in that we feel can make us stronger.

“You need a little bit of luck in the cup competitions which we had last season and we are hoping to go one better in the league. So yes, expectations rise but there has to be a realism of where we are, where our budget is. We set out to stay in this division and that remains exactly the same as last year.” Bowman, suspended along with Cedric Kipre for the visit of Edinburgh City, is under contract with Motherwell until next summer. Well also knocked back a £350,000 offer from Hull for defender Kipre last month.

Robinson said: “We had an offer for Ryan which wasn’t even close to our value of him. I reiterate, players won’t leave the club unless it is for the right money and benefits everybody.

“We have had bids for Cedric and again it was way below our valuation. Gone are the days when people just come and offer an amount of money and everyone in Scottish football snaps their hands off. We are in the position financially that we don’t need to sell.”