Steelmen won’t turn their backs on the kids

MOTHERWELL legend Stevie Hammell last night insisted that the club remain ‘fully committed’ to their youth academy after he hailed the imagination and dedication of the Fir Park youngsters. Clubs up and down the country are beginning to cut their cloth accordingly as the financial realities of the Covid-19 crisis begin to really hit home. It was confirmed yesterday that Dundee look set to join Hearts, Hibernian and Aberdeen in making efforts to slash expenditure as a result of the shutdown. And with no date yet confirmed for when kids football can safely resume in the Scottish game, there are fears that some sides may see their youth systems as an easily dispensable outgoing when they seek to save cash. Hibs have already indicated that they plan to mothball their youth academy in a cost-cutting exercise. However, Motherwell academy director Hammell yesterday sought to alleviate any such worries as far as the Lanarkshire outfit are concerned. The former left-back said: ‘With all the uncertainty surrounding our game just now, I would like to assure all our players and their families that myself and Motherwell are fully committed to our academy. ‘As soon as restrictions are lifted, we aim to be in a position to start back immediately.’ And Hammell reserved special praise for the way his young charges have handled lockdown and life without organised football in general. ‘I would like to thank all our academy players and their families for their hard work, creativity and patience during the past few months,’ said the 38-year-old former Scotland cap, who had two lengthy spells as a player with the Steelmen between 1999 and 2006, and 2008 and 2018. ‘It has been a challenging time for everyone, but to see the way our young players have embraced this challenge has been a credit to themselves and also to their families. ‘We are proud of how our young players have dealt with these circumstances.’