Motherwell have named German Michael Wimmer as the club’s new boss.
The 44-year-old will officially succeed Stuart Kettlwell once he obtains his work permit. Wimmer was most recently manager of Austria Vienna and has previously been assistant boss of Stuttgart which also saw him take on an interim spell in charge. He took the team between October and December that year following Pellegrino Matarazzo’s exit.
Wimmer will be assisted by Ahmet Koc with the pair working closely for more than a decade at at Nuremberg and Austria Vienna. The new Fir Park boss told the club website: “I’m ecstatic to be joining this football club. This is a hugely exciting club whose core values align with mine. Speaking to the board was insightful, and it was interesting to hear their vision.
“It’s not a club standing still, and I feel Ahmet and I can really help the football club move forward. We’re at a crucial segment of the season, with opportunities all around us.
“There will be no settling-in period. We will commit 100% of our efforts to producing an exciting football team that can achieve targets. I can’t wait to meet the supporters. The passion and enthusiasm are admirable, and it will be a huge contributing factor in our success going forward.”
Wimmer set out on his coaching journey in the Nuremberg academy and worked his way through the ranks to assistant manager of the second string. That earned him a move to the Bundesliga where he was assistant at Augsburg.
He helped Augsburg stay in the top flight and took over as interim boss in October 2022, winning four or his seven games. That earned him a move to Austria Vienna, his first permanent top team manager role. In his 16 months in charge of the Austrian outfit, he managed 57 matches, with Koc by his side. In his first six months in charge, Wimmer guided his team to a top-six finish, ending up fifth and only missing out on a top six place on goal difference.
He left the Austrians last summer and during his time out of the dug-out has been linked with Bundesliga and English Championship clubs but his return comes in Lanarkshire in the Scottish Premiership. Steelmen chairman Kyrk Macmillan said on the club website: “This is a really exciting appointment for the club. There was a robust and strenuous recruitment process that has been ongoing for the last three weeks that has demanded a lot from those involved and I would like to thank them for their hard work.
“Having received hundreds of applications from managers across the world, Michael was the standout candidate. We conducted strenuous due diligence to ensure this appointment would push the club in the correct direction.
“We used a series of measurable values that indicate how effectively potential managerial candidates benchmarked in achieving specific objectives; which we believe went to the core ethos of Motherwell Football Club.
“This, combined with speaking with a number of references and our interviews, made it very clear that not only are Michael and Ahmet driven to deliver success on the pitch, but are also individuals that share our ethos of ambition, innovation and transparency. We are delighted as a football club to welcome Michael and Ahmet onboard and look forward to working together.”
Chief executive Brian Caldwell added: “The Executive Board feel like Michael Wimmer and Ahmet Koc will be excellent additions to the football club. It has been a long road to get to this point, but we felt taking our time and ensuring the data all matches up with what we wanted was crucial.
“They have a history of nurturing young players, which stems from their work in a top academy setup in Germany.
“They have known each other for 13 years, so they are really connected and have a strong working relationship.
“Coming from Germany, they are well acquainted with fan culture and fan ownership. We also feel this is a major positive, as it’s a significant factor around this football club. We’re proud to be fan-owned and community-driven; Michael and Ahmet will have a complete understanding of this.”