Striker Jack Aitchison reckons the maturity and development he has achieved at Celtic and Barnsley will help him at Motherwell this season.
The 22-year-old was looking for a way out of Barnsley after two-and-a-half years there and when Motherwell offered him a deal until the end of the season he jumped at the chance.
Aitchison made his first start less than 24 hours later in the 2-0 defeat at home to St Johnstone on Wednesday but feels there is a lot more to come from the Steelmen, as they prepare for a clash against Aberdeen at Pittodrie this afternoon.
Jack, who can play as a striker or attacking midfielder, holds the distinction of being the youngest ever player to score in a competitive match for Celtic – ironically against Motherwell in 2016 – and three years later joined English League Two side Forest Green Rovers on a loan deal.
Aitchison left Celtic and moved to Barnsley in October 2020, and nine months later headed back to Forest Green, where he won the League Two title in 2021-22.
When asked if it was difficult to leave Barnsley, Aitchison said: “It was a bit 50-50. I wasn’t playing as much as I hoped, and I spoke to the manager down there [Michael Duff]. He didn’t really want me to go, but I felt it was the right choice.
“I wanted to come up and get more game time, develop, and try to help Motherwell as well.
“I spoke to the manager [Steven Hammell], he said a lot of good things and I think I can come and help.
“I tried to get away at the start of the window. There were a couple of clubs, but nothing really appealed, and when I heard Motherwell came in, it was a good opportunity to get back up the road, and a good squad, so I wanted to try and get the deal done.
“I only came up on Tuesday night, met the boys on Wednesday and came straight in.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. I felt this move was the right one and I’m sure it will be.”
Fauldhouse-born Aitchison hopes the experiences he had at Celtic and in England can help him and Motherwell.
“At Celtic the training intensity was top. They play Champions League and win the league basically every season.
“The calibre of players they’ve got is unreal, so I’m hoping that [standard] will help me in the future.
“I feel I’ve matured quite a lot since moving down to England. I had to live myself, it’s not something I had done before, but I felt, playing top six in League One, there was quite a big ask of myself and I developed a lot, on and off the pitch.”
Aitchison is aware of the predicament Motherwell are in as they sit second-bottom of the Premiership, but says they can’t dwell on things.
Though today’s clash at Aberdeen is a massive one for both clubs, he says things can change quickly.
“What I thought when I came in was that it was a positive, upbeat changing room, there was a lot of morale in it,” he said.
“It’s one result I’ve come into, I’m sure we can change it in the next game.
“There are still 18 or 19 games left, so why not? We can keep going, training hard, and there are new additions to the squad, including myself.
“We have time to gel and I’m sure it will come together.
“We believe we can go to Aberdeen and play well. It’s a big game, but in an other way it’s just a game that we need to not get too high on.
“We just need to play our own game, focus on our progress, and hopefully the result comes.
“I won the league with Forest Green Rovers; we went through a rough patch. We were top of the league for the full season, went into second, and in the last game we won it [the title] in the last five minutes, so the game is never done until it’s done.
“It might take us until the last game to keep up, but we’ll see what happens.
“We just need to keep doing our thing, keep doing everything the best we can to change things around.”
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