Motherwell chief executive Brian Caldwell stressed the potential opportunities for the club if it showcases its community ethos in conjunction with the Well Society.
Brian was speaking at a Meet the Manager event organised exclusively for Well Society members, who were handed the opportunity to question himself and Stuart Kettlewell.
During the event on 29 July, which was compered by Terrace podcast host and Well Society Communications Workstream member Graeme Thewliss, Brian expressed his excitement at what can be achieved as the club resets following a summer of debate.
“We’re a fan-owned club,” he said. “We’re very much at the heart of the community, but as an outsider coming in here I thought ‘why does nobody shout about that?’
“Nobody actually puts that in people’s faces, so the people of Lanarkshire actually realise how community driven we are.
“You’ll not get a more community-driven football club with the work that goes on in the Community Trust, with the fact we’re fan-owned.
“It’s all a case of a wee bit of joined-up thinking and putting everything together. We’ve got the Well Society Board, you’ve got the fans and the football club – we need to all just work together to try and make things better.”
Brian joined Motherwell in April after being interviewed by the Well Society board.
And he expressed excitement at the prospect of getting down to work on pushing the club forward in partnership, following the clarity brought by the end of Erik Barmack’s investment proposal.
“I’ve always had a really good relationship with the Well Society board,” said Brian, who has performed similar roles at Ayr United, St Mirren and Shrewsbury Town. “I speak to members of the board probably every day of the week.
“As I have said from day one this club needs a reset. Now since the decision was made by Erik to pull his investment, it’s time for the reset.
“We had a meeting with the Well Society board and I think there’s so many ideas we’ve got to work together going forward.”
Brian also clarified the basic structure of how the club operates in conjunction with the Well Society board, but recognised the need for closer co-operation.
“Myself and David Lindsay – the Finance Director – we’re here day to day. We basically run the football club, obviously in conjunction with the football staff. The board assist as and when required, but for me there needs to be more linkage with the Well Society Board.
“The Well Society Board have given up enormous amounts of time, especially in the last number of months. The work they’ve done behind the scenes is quite phenomenal. The time they’ve given up, it’s been quite a commitment for them all.
“But now we can now channel the work into utilising their skills and their local knowledge to help me, more than anything else.”