Askou on Miller, 'being brave' & 'harmonic' Motherwell

BBC News

2 days ago

Manager Jens Berthel Askou has been speaking to the media prior to Motherwell's Scottish Premiership opener at home to Rangers on Saturday.Here are the key lines:On whether the club has accepted a bid for Lennon Miller, Askou says: "That is a question not for me but for the board."Askou would not reveal how many clubs are interested in the teenage midfielder, but says Miller could be involved on Saturday.He adds: "He was partially in training today and will be almost full training tomorrow. Then we'll take a decision on whether it's time for him to be part of the team again on Saturday or whether it's too late while all the other things are working in background."On his team's form going into Saturday's match, Askou says they are getting "better and better" but knows there is "still work to be done". "Recent performances have been quite solid, although we know there are areas we haven't practised that much," he adds. "We'll be tested on these areas on Saturday."Askou says his current group are "quite harmonic", but he still wants to add to his squad: "We need to add more depth, more quality and more competition."On facing Rangers: "We know it'll be a very big test against a top side who performed really well [against Panathinaikos]. We know we're not favourites, but it doesn't mean we can't make a result and good performance."On his expectations for the season, Askou's aim is to finish in the top six: "We want to reach out for things and be brave while doing that and not protective and defensive. We'll see how far it takes us."And on what he wants from his team on Saturday: "I expect us to do what we want to do and not let the level of Rangers stress us and take away our courage to do what we want to do and what we know we're best at, instead of trying to do it very basically and with fear."