Motherwell

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Elijah Just hopes his agent is "busy at the moment" as the New Zealand midfielder hinted at a possible summer exit from Motherwell after impressing at the World Cup.

The 26-year-old scored three times despite his side failing to qualify for the knock-out stages in the Americas.

Asked about his future on his return to Fir Park, he said: "In terms of transfer in the window, that's I guess my agent's job.

"Well, I hope he's busy at the moment and I will obviously speak with him and, in football, you never know."

Just only joined Motherwell from Danish club Horsens a year ago and is under contract until next summer, with the Scottish Premiership club having an option of extending that by a further year.

However, he had already been linked with champions Celtic before his three World Cup goals followed an impressive first season in Scottish football during which he helped Well finish fourth.

"The World Cup has given me added belief and also motivation to keep pushing," Just told the NZ Herald.

"There was a point in my career, one or two years ago, where I wasn't quite sure what level I was going to be.

"I was a little bit stuck and maybe plateaued a little bit, so now you have a little bit of a new energy and new belief.

"I definitely want to test myself, see how far I can go. It's something that everybody wants to do.

"Coming to the World Cup gave me a taste of playing against top, top players. So we'll see what happens."

Nevertheless, Just admitted he is "looking forward to seeing all my pals and meeting the new coach" after former Rosenborg boss Alfred Johansson replaced Toulouse-bound Jens Berthel Askou.

Top clubs from Britain and France are tracking Elijah Just after the 26-year-old Motherwell midfielder starred for New Zealand at the World Cup. (NZ Herald, external)

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Motherwell's Elijah Just has become the joint-top World Cup scorer among players based at Scottish clubs following a third goal in three games for New Zealand.

The 26-year-old netted a consolation goal as his national side were beaten 5-1 by Belgium and finished bottom of Group G with one point.

The winger previously netted both of New Zealand's goals in their 2-2 draw with Iran in the opening game.

Just moves level with Henrik Larsson, who scored three goals for Sweden while a Celtic player.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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New manager Alfred Johansson says intensity, tempo and playing out from the back will be the hallmarks of his Motherwell side.

The Fir Park outfit finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership last season under Jens Berthel Askou and Johansson expects to maintain the high standards set by his predecessor.

The former Rosenborg head coach has been impressed with the squad in his first few training sessions as he looks toward the Conference League qualifiers against Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands next month.

"That's the good thing with having a strategy as a club and trying to go in the same direction, regardless of who the manager is," the Swede said.

"I want intensity, I want tempo, I want to play out from the back, I want to be constructive in the way that we attack. We build attacks looking for advantages on an individual level, on a team level. And collectively we have to be strong units, when we press, when we have to sit a little bit deeper at times.

"The foundation is great. It's a privilege to come to a well-run locker room, to a well-run training session.

"The first real football session that we had, they ran the show by themselves in a really nice manner. So I would say that from myself, the expectation is that we'll be able to continue, we'll be able to consolidate the level.

"That's what we're looking to do and try to build as much as possible on top.

"I am Alfred and I obviously have my ideas, which will affect how the team is expressed on the pitch."

Johansson went on to state that he will have a big say in summer recruitment, both incomings and outgoings, and was adamant that top performers like Elijah Just, Tawanda Maswanhise and Elliot Watt are "committed" to Motherwell.

Former Motherwell centre-half Stephen Craigan is poised to join Stephen Robinson's coaching staff at Aberdeen. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

Monday's Scottish gossip

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Former Hibernian player Kevin Nicol believes "proactive" Alfred Johansson's appointment as Motherwell manager is "very exciting".

Nicol is assistant at Fredrikstad, who play in the same Norwegian top flight as Johansson's former club Rosenborg.

Swede Johansson, 35, replaces Jens Berthel Askou, who became a hugely popular figure with the Fir Park faithful. The Dane led Well to fourth place in last season's Scottish Premiership, earning plaudits for the Steelmen's style of play.

Johansson left Norway in May after a two-and-a-half year spell in charge of Rosenborg.

"It is very exciting," Nicol told BBC Scotland. "He is regarded as a proactive, offensive head coach, modern ideas.

"You can tell when he speaks about the game he has got a wide knowledge of football.

"He has learned a lot from being a head coach at a top club in terms of dealing with the media. There are some strong personalities in that Rosenborg dressing room as well.

"The key for him going into Motherwell is, how does he deal with the dressing room in a Scottish environment? I think [it] is a little bit different than a Scandinavian environment, to be honest.

"So, he has got to show enough strength and has got to get the players behind him. That is very important because he had had some issues with a couple of players in his time at Rosenborg, experienced players. It is very important that you get the experienced players on board early if you are going to have success."

Playing a 4-3-3 system, Johansson won 71 of his 131 matches at Rosenborg before being dismissed.

Despite the way it ended, Nicol observes "the club was forced to sell two or three really good players", adding "it is definitely not all his fault that the results weren't very good" over the last six months.

"Hopefully Alfred with a similar philosophy can have just as much success as Jens had in the previous season," said Nicol.

"It is a great chance for Alfred to get back in the game, work in a different culture.

"Scottish football is different, though, and he has to take that into consideration, it is a very physical style of football, he is going to have to get used to a lot of pressure from fans as well when it doesn't go well, perhaps more than in Scandinavia in fact.

"Also players are slightly different. Scandinavian players are very honest and they do the work in general and not all Scottish players, in my experience, are quite like that but we have got more characters [in Scotland]. Usually those players can be your best players so you have to learn to deal with them and encourage them in the right way to get the best out of them."

And news of Johansson's move across the North Sea has been making headlines in Norway.

Former Raith Rovers and Peterhead player Nicol added: "Absolutely, Alfred was head coach of the biggest club in Norway, probably, in Rosenborg so definitely it has been in all the major media outlets.

"People are very happy he has come back in the game and it is a great chance for him because I think everyone recognises in Rosenborg he was a little bit unfortunate with the circumstances he found himself in after the first season there.

"So, it has been a difficult job and a difficult time for him at Rosenborg but hopefully now he can go on to a club on the way up and continue the good work that has been done there."

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Centre-back Liam Gordon has left Motherwell, while club captain Paul McGinn faces months out after knee surgery.

Gordon, 30, played 57 times and scored twice over his two seasons at Fir Park, but was mainly a substitute for Jens Berthel Askou last term.

McGinn, 35, missed the final three matches of last season and has had a knee operation which will sideline him for a "number of months", according to Motherwell.

Callum Hendry faces a similar spell on the sidelines, while striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos will join the squad next week after the birth of his child.

Meanwhile academy player Zander McAllister has signed a deal to 2028.

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New manager Alfred Johansson has told Motherwell supporters not to expect major changes to the playing style successfully implemented by predecessor Jens Berthel Askou.

Swede Johansson has replaced Dane Askou, who was very popular with the Well faithful during his solitary season in charge and drew plaudits for the Steelmen's possession-based brand of football.

Johansson spoke with Askou before taking on the Motherwell job and "can't praise the style of play here at Motherwell enough".

"My way of playing previously in all the clubs that I've been at has been related with that way, possession based, trying to dominate games in that way," Johansson told club media.

"In football you can't ask for more weeks than what we've got at this point [to prepare] so the good thing is that I'm here because I am a coach that likes to play in a similar way that the club has been conducted last year on the pitch, so I don't think that people should be too afraid that there's going to be major changes.

"We will still try to be constructive, playing with the ball, having deep runs and trying to attack the box of the opponent in our way.

"I think going back to using the positives of that fundamental that's been built here over the past 12 months with Jens and the coaching staff, that's what will provide us the possibility to add some details, to put in my ideas, but using the strong fundamental that's already built."

Motherwell will feature in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, with a tie against Havnar Boltfelag. The first leg takes place at Fir Park on 23 July.

"We start with a very exciting Conference League qualifier in the Faroe Islands and we have some weeks to prepare for that and everything that we'll do now is to try to get the best out of the fundamental from last year and try to just keep on building on that," said Johansson.

We asked for your views about Motherwell's new manager, Alfred Johansson.

Here are a selection of your replies:

D: Very pleased to see us going down the same route for appointing Alfred as we did with Jens Berthel Askou and Michael Wimmer, far rather that than the managerial merry-go-round dross of Scottish football.

George: Would love to see us build on what was a magnificent 2025-2026 season. Our fans' expectations are high but we have to be realistic. The new manager will need time to get his ideas across and it is likely we will lose some key players. A good run in Europe and a top-six place would be a good outcome.

Jim: Yet again our board pull a rabbit out the hat, with no media leaks. Given his Copenhagen connection, I have no doubt Askou has spoken for him. Every appointment is a gamble, but trust our board.

Ian: As long they play the same attractive, attacking football, he will do for me.

Frank: Wish him and Motherwell all the best for next season. Proper fan-run club.

John: The fans have every reason to trust our board, they know what the supporters want and they have delivered bringing in talented players and a way of playing that we appreciate so the future still looks good for the Well.

Gary: Another leftfield appointment that no one had any idea of. Club great at conducting business privately. Big boots to fill but hopefully another great appointment.

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Motherwell have found their Jens Berthel Askou replacement in the form of 35-year-old Swedish coach Alfred Johansson, but who exactly is the Steelmen's new manager?

While Johansson has never played the game professionally, he went down the academic route on his journey to becoming a head coach. Alongside earning a bachelors degree in sports science in Sweden, he completed a postgraduate course in high-performance football coaching in Lisbon.

Having already earned an advanced football certification from Uefa between 2014-2015, he went on to complete his pro licence in 2024.

It seems Motherwell can expect a heavy focus on youth development under their new boss.

Since 2011, Johansson has spent much of his career working with youth teams. He began in Sweden working with the youth squads at Enkopings SK in 2011 before a spell as academy manager at Djurgardens IF until 2015.

After that, it was off to Copenhagen where he started as a youth manager and chief analyst for the under-19 team. A brief return to Sweden to take charge of AIK's under-17 side followed before heading back to Denmark to re-join Copenhagen as under-19 head coach.

The 35-year-old enjoyed a successful spell back in Denmark, leading Copehagen's under-19 side to Uefa Youth League wins against sides like Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Then in 2023 he was snapped up by Norwegian side Rosenborg for his first senior managerial role.

In his first season in professional management, Johansson guided Rosenborg to a fourth-place finish in the Norwegian top-flight and secured a return to European football after a 12-month absence by winning over half of their league matches.

In the 2025 league campaign his side finished seventh in the Norwegian top flight and kept 11 clean sheets in the process - the second highest in the division.

But he was sacked in May this year after just one win in his opening five games of the most recent Norwegian season.

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New Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson says it's a "huge honour" to become the club's 31st manager.

The Fir Park side have been searching for Jens Berthel Askou's replacement following his departure to French Ligue 1 side Toulouse last month.

The 35-year-old was most recently manager of Norwegian side Rosenborg but has also had spells with FC Copenhagen in their youth set-up.

"This is a huge honour for me," manager Alfred Johansson said.

"To work at this football club and to lead is a privilege. I've analysed the club closely, and the direction that it's going in is of huge importance to me. Last season was hugely successful, and I want to be able to carry this success forward. The squad of players we have is exciting, and we will get to work straight away.

"There is no time to waste with European football next month and the league season starting in a few weeks. I can't wait to get to know all the players and staff at the club, but most importantly, I'm looking forward to meeting the supporters. I'll see you all very soon."

Have your say on Johansson's appointment via this link

Motherwell have been drawn against Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands in the second round of Conference League qualifying.

Satisfied with that? Confident of progress?

Give us your thoughts.

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Whoever is chosen as Jens Berthel Askou's successor as Motherwell manager will be fairly confident of progressing beyond the Conference League's second qualifying round following Wednesday's draw.

Being unseeded, the Fir Park side could have faced Denmark's FC Copenhagen or Finland's HJK Helsinki, two sides with regular European football behind them.

Instead, they were paired with the lower-ranked Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands, with Well hosting the first leg on 23 July and travelling to the 5,000-capacity stadium at Gundadalur, Torshavn the following midweek.

The 24-time champions qualified as Faroe Islands Premier League runners-up for 2025, nine points adrift of Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag, and currently lie sixth in the current season after 13 games.

However, Faroese football has improved since Motherwell last played Havnar, in the Uefa Cup in 1994, and won both legs convincingly for a 7-1 aggregate.

Havnar have lost in their opening Conference League qualifier four seasons in a row, but they were only narrow defeats by Brondby, Hajduk Split, Derry City and Newtown of Wales, the latter on penalties after winning their home leg 1-0.

Their most glorious European triumph came in 2021, when they thrashed Montenegro side Buducnost Podgorica 6-0 on aggregate before losing to Maccabi Haifa in the play-off round.

Given Motherwell lost home and away at the same stage to Irish side Sligo Rovers on their last European venture four years ago, there will be no room for complacency against a side who will be midway through their domestic season.

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Motherwell now know more clearly who their first opponents will be in Conference League qualifying.

From a list of 86 clubs, European governing body Uefa on Wednesday morning narrowed it down by splitting it into nine groups ahead of the draw at 13:00 BST.

The Fir Park side are one of five unseeded clubs in a group of 10, although the total number of potential opponents is six.

Denmark's FC Copenhagen, Finland's HJK Helsinki, Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands are possible opponents.

As are the winners of the first qualifying round tie between Wales' Caernarfon Town and Levadia Tallinn of Estonia.

The two legs of the second qualifying round ties will be played on 23 and 30 July.

Portuguese coach Goncalo Feio, who decided to leave Tondela after relegation from his country's top flight, has revealed he is open to moving abroad with the 36-year-old among the names being considered for the Motherwell vacancy. (Daily Record), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.