MOTHERWELL defender Tom Aldred hinted last night that he could be prepared to stay on at the club when his loan deal from Bury expires this summer, writes Stewart Fisher. The 28-year-old, nearing the end of his second temporary spell at the club from Bury, has played 39 times this season already. He is sure to have options when his contract at the Greater Manchester outfit expires at the end of this season but Aldred – who represented Scotland at Under-19 level, hasn’t closed the door to remaining in Lanarkshire on a permanent basis.
“I am out of contract in the summer so as with any footballer you don’t know where you are going to be,” said Aldred. “It comes with the territory. From my point of view I have six games until the end of the season and I will be focusing on them as I did the previous 50 or so that I have played at the club.
“At this minute I honestly don’t know where I am going to be but my commitment is to Motherwell Football Club, just like it has been for the previous 18 months. I have sat down with the manager and chatted about things but it is just a case of getting through the remaining six games of the season and we will chat again after that. It [staying on] is definitely not a closed door for me, but we will discuss it again in detail when we get to the back end of the season.”
At least Aldred, who featured in the 7-1 defeat to Ibrox earlier this season, doesn’t have Alfredo Morelos to contend with. In his absence, he is looking forward to locking horns with Jermain Defoe, who will clearly be desperate to keep his current scoring run going after a strike against Hearts in midweek.
“I’ve never played against him but obviously it is another good striker that I am looking forward to coming up against,” said Aldred. “He is obviously a top class player and a top class pro because he has been playing at the top level so long and he obviously looks after himself. He is someone that you admire and someone I am looking forward to coming up against. 100%, in any walk of life, you want to test yourself against the best in your domain. “Who is the best I have ever come up against so far?” he added. “Callum Wilson, I came up against him down at Bournemouth, and he was razor sharp.”
Defeat against Aberdeen in midweek means it is bottom six for Stephen Robinson’ side, but Motherwell are determined to finish strong. “Regardless of any situation, a match against the Old Firm is a good one to go into,” he said. “ We were obviously disappointed not to be in the top six but we can take confidence from the run we have been on.”
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