STEPHEN ROBINSON praised his trial stars yesterday as an experimental Motherwell kicked off their pre-season with a 2-0 win over Stirling Albion.
But the Fir Park manager conceded he can’t afford to keep all three unsigned players and that they will get another chance to impress midweek before he is forced to make a call on their future.
French centre-halves Cedric Kipre and Bira Dembele as well as former Barnsley forward Shaun Tuton all got 45 minutes each at Forthbank, with the latter scoring a tremendous volley from the edge of the box to kickstart a comfortable Motherwell win on 35 minutes.. A second-half Ryan Bowman tap in after an hour finished things off in front of just over a 1000 fans.
Motherwell are keen to bring in central defensive cover after midfielder Carl McHugh was drafted in last term following an injury sustained by Stephen McManus. At the other end, speculation about Louis Moult’s future earlier this year could lead to the Premiership side needing attacking reinforcements.
And Robinson is ready to give his potential new recruits an outing away to Livingston on Tuesday before making a decision.
“It was a super finish," he said of 25-year-old Touton's screamer that nestled in the top corner. "It maybe took people a wee while to get their touch back and their decision making. It was a great finish.
“They will play on Tuesday night at some stage for a part of it. We will have a look again on Tuesday night then we will have to make a decision.
“Obviously financially we can’t keep them all. We need to get people out before we bringing any more in. It’s something I’m actively working on at the moment.”
When asked if he would have to pick between 21-year-old Kipre who came through the ranks at Leicester and 29-year-old former Stade Rennes and Barnet defender Dembele, he said: “Quite possibly. They are both at different stages of their career.
“One is 29 and has played loads of games the other is a young boy with loads of potential. That obviously dictates what Motherwell we are able to pay them.
“We’ll look at both of them. We’ll look at Shaun and see what we need, but we’re aware we do need a centre-half. If the finances dictated we probably need two, but one is probably what we’ll be able to do.”
Motherwell fielded 21 players in all throughout the 90 minutes with Robinson attempting to get game time into his players’ legs as well as have a look at his recent signings.
New boys Charles Dunne, Craig Tanner and Andy Rose all played, while long-term absentees McManus and Richard Tait both got run outs.
One man who didn’t play was Moult. The man who has been the club’s top goal scorer for the last two seasons underwent groin surgery last month and is only just getting back to training.
Motherwell kick off their Betfred Cup campaign at Hampden against Queen’s Park, and Robinson is hopeful the former Wrexham forward, who was on the radar of Rangers last season, will get some game time before Pedro Caixinha’s team come to Fir Park on August 5 for the Premiership opener.
“He’s not quite here yet but he’ll start training on Monday or Tuesday,” said Robinson. “We are easing him in gently before the first game of the season.
“We are hopeful and he’ll will join back in. He’s three or four weeks on from his surgery. We don’t want to rush him in pre-season games, we just want to make sure he’s right for July 15 or the first Premiership game.”
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