Baraclough Belief In Well Ambition

Photo by Jeff Holmes Ian Baraclough maintained his ambitious outlook as he was introduced as Motherwell manager. The Englishman, who swept Sligo Rovers to their first title in 35 years when he took over at the Irish club in 2012, drew attention in his first interview with the club's media team on Saturday when he claimed there was no reason why Motherwell could not emulate that feat in Scotland. And, despite facing an initial battle to steer Motherwell away from the relegation zone, he stressed in his first media conference that aiming high was the only way to be for a sports person. The former Scunthorpe player and manager said: "When I spoke the other day, I want people to believe you can go on and win the SPFL. Can you get there? Who knows? "But I want people to have that kind of psyche. When you go into any competition, whether it's the league, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, you want to win it. "I don't want to go into a game thinking I'll be happy with a draw here or perhaps get beat and damage limitation. That's not me. Why not set your sights that you can get as far as you can? "I'm not saying we are going to do it and make predictions. But I watched the BBC Sports Personality in Glasgow last night and you had so many people there that, if they had the mind set that 'someone is better than me', you are never going to get there, they wouldn't have been on that podium. "I'm in football to win as many games as possible and let's see where it takes us. I think you have to have that mindset as a player and a coach." Motherwell are on the verge of major change off the park with Lanarkshire-born businessman Les Hutchison on course to lead a takeover in partnership with supporters. And, despite financial pressures caused by combined losses of almost £1million in the last three seasons, Baraclough is convinced that Motherwell can match his ambitious outlook. "When you get interviewed for a job, I think it's my role that I almost interview my prospective employer as well,'' said Baraclough, who spoke to Barbados-based Hutchison and other directors in a second interview via conference call. "It was important that it was a club that wanted to get to the next level, they want to get better. "Having spoken to the people involved, I was put at ease straight away. "It's a club with a good tradition of bringing young players through. I want to do that and support Scott Leitch and Jonatan Johansson in the development of young players. If they are good enough, they will get a chance." Baraclough will have further talks with assistant manager Kenny Black, who is unsure whether to stay on. "We had a brief chat for 15 to 20 minutes and we will have further conversations and see where we are," the 44-year-old said. "I said to Kenny I want someone who knows the game. I've spoken to people about Kenny, a really good character. Only knowing him (for) 48 hours, I feel he is the type of person I want to work with."