Johansson steers Motherwell through testing start with third straight win

Alfred Johansson’s arrival at Motherwell this summer was widely seen as a daunting task. The Scottish Premiership side had finished fourth last season with one of the league's smallest budgets, and the Swede was following Jens Berthel Askou, who left for Toulouse. In addition, several key players departed, with Elijah Just, Elliot Watt and Calum Ward moving to Swansea City, Samsunspor and QPR respectively.

Despite these challenges, Motherwell have begun the season impressively. Sunday's 2-1 victory at Hibernian was their third win in a row, following a 5-0 aggregate success over HB Torshavn. At Easter Road, Motherwell showed resilience under pressure, with defender Martin Moormann and goalkeeper Alex Paulsen playing key roles in repelling Hibernian's second-half attacks, before Ibrahim Said scored the decisive goal on a counter-attack.

Johansson, 35, praised his team's collective effort rather than tactical details. He highlighted the players' willingness to sacrifice themselves, mentioning crucial blocks, deep-lying forwards and exceptional saves. The manager also noted that eight players made their league debut for the club in the match, five of whom started, which he said reflected the right characters within the squad.

The early signs suggest the club's recruitment has been shrewd. Centre-backs Moormann and Jake Girdwood-Reich have impressed, while established players like Said and academy product Mikey Booth have complemented the new arrivals. The positive atmosphere was echoed by midfielder Oscar Priestman and forward Regan Charles-Cook, who spoke about the manager's new methods and the family-like spirit in the dressing room.

Motherwell face a sterner test on Thursday when they visit HJK Helsinki in the Conference League third qualifying round. So far, Johansson and his revamped side have passed every examination with flying colours.