Motherwell contract latest as Michael Wimmer looks ahead to busy summer of ins and outs

New boss has had no time to relax during the break with so many players set to become free agents.

Michael Wimmer hopes to find time to go hunting Nessie - but only after diving into Motherwell’s monster contract pile-up.

The Steelmen this week tied down Stephen O’Donnell and Callum Slattery on fresh one-year deals. But new boss Wimmer is still facing a summer headache with 10 top teamers in line to become free agents including Andy Halliday, Dan Casey, Shane Blaney and Davor Zdravkovski.

A further 10 loanees are set to join them exiting Fir Park as things stand with Tony Watt, Luke Armstrong, Kai Andrews and Ellery Balcombe among the regulars whose temporary deals run out in May.

Wimmer replaced Stuart Kettlewell in the Well hotseat five weeks ago and has been pouring over the personal situations of his squad. The German wants to know who is on board with his long-term project - and what areas he needs to strengthen in the summer. All of which means finding time to relax during during the break has been hard. He said: “It's difficult at the beginning to not forget the job.

“It’s important for me to get to know the whole situation, also the contract situation of the players, to have this all. We’ve started a new project and now I have a better picture which players want to go this way. This is the right way for the players.

“I get a feeling what we need perhaps for the next season, which players are possible, which players we need. The best case is that everybody likes this way and says ‘hey, come on, come on, we go this way together’. Then we need only a couple of players. That would be the best case. But it's up to the players.”

Wimmer arrived in Scotland after a spell as boss of Austria Vienna. And after a year and a half spent in the shadow of the Alps the 44-year-old is now keen to sample what scenery Scotland has to offer.

He said: “Hopefully I will see something from this brilliant country and to get perhaps to Loch Ness. In Germany, my son always says, ‘Papa, did you see Loch Ness?’

“This is something I want to see, if there really is a monster! My son always says ‘is there really a monster?’ I want to see it, to take pictures, to send him these pictures.

“It’s also important to see something from the country because it's a great country and so I want to see something.”