2020–21 Motherwell F.C. season
The 2020–21 season was Motherwell's thirty-sixth consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football, having been promoted from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 1984–85 season. Season review Pre-season On 17 June, UEFA announced that all UEFA Europa League qualifying and playoffs rounds would be played over one-leg, instead of the usual two, with Motherwell's First Round match taking place on 27 August. On 23 June, Declan Gallagher was announced as the club's new captain, with Trevor Carson being appointed vice-captain after former captain Peter Hartley left the club at the end of the previous season. On 24 June, Motherwell announced that they had giving permission to manager Stephen Robinson to discuss the vacant Northern Ireland managerial position. On 27 June, Charles Dunne signed a new short-term contract with the club, until December 2020. On 10 July, Chris Long signed a new one-year contract with the club. Transfers On 10 June, Motherwell announced the singing of Ricki Lamie on a contract until the summer of 2022. On 12 June, Motherwell announced their second singing of the summer, with Jordan White. On 15 June, Motherwell announced the signing of Nathan McGinley to a two-year contract after his contract with Forest Green Rovers had expired. The following day, Motherwell announced that youngsters Barry Maguire, Harry Robinson and Yusuf Hussain had all signed new one-year contracts with the club. On 22 June, Motherwell announced the singing of Scott Fox on a one-year contract, after his Partick Thistle contract had expired. On 24 June, Motherwell announced that they had signed Mark O'Hara on permanent deal from Peterborough United for a nominal fee, with O'Hara signing a two-year contract. On 3 July, Motherwell announced the return of Jake Hastie on a season-long loan deal from Rangers. On 29 July, Motherwell announced the signing of Callum Lang on a season-long loan deal from Wigan Athletic. On 13 August, Motherwell announced the signing of Stephen O'Donnell on a contract until the mid-season transfer window. On 27 August, David Turnbull left the club to sign for Celtic for a club-record fee, reported to be in the £3,000,000 range. On 15 September, Jamie Semple joined Scottish League One club Cove Rangers on a season-long loan. On 18 September, Motherwell signed Robbie Crawford on loan from Livingston until January 2021, whilst Harry Robinson was loaned out to Queen of the South for the remainder of the season. On 21 September, Ross MacIver joined Greenock Morton on loan for the season. October On 2 October, the day of the game, Motherwell's trip to Kilmarnock was postponed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the Kilmarnock squad. Later on the same day, Motherwell announced the departure of Jermaine Hylton to Ross County and the arrival of Devante Cole on a permanent deal until the end of the season. The same day, the 2020-21 Challenge Cup was cancelled due to the restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland. On 4 October, Sam Muir moved to Gretna 2008 on loan