This is an excerpt from this week's Claret and Amber Alert, a free Motherwell newsletter written by Graeme McGarry that goes out every Thursday at 6pm. To sign up, click here.

When a player signs for a club, one of the first things that fans do is check out what the supporters of his previous club are saying about him. Depending on the circumstances of their departure, such comments are not always reliable, but they can sometimes be a good gauge of what you are getting.

The same logic extends to other positions within the club too, from managers to the boardroom, so it was in that spirit that I had a quick squizz at the Twitter timelines of both St Mirren and Shrewsbury Town recently to see what the fan reaction was to the departure of Brian Caldwell from their respective clubs.

Caldwell, as we now know, will be the man to finally replace Alan Burrows as Motherwell’s new permanent CEO, and on the face of it, it would appear to be an exciting appointment.

Almost universally, news of his departure from the Saints and the Salopians was greeted with dismay, with warm thanks being extended to Caldwell for the job he had done and his commitment to the cause.

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There was particular gratitude for the emphasis he placed on fan engagement, and from speaking to people within the game here, that is definitely a strong suit. Caldwell values supporters and has an appreciation for a club’s role at the heart of a community, which would seem to make him a perfect fit for Motherwell and the values the club should be looking to uphold.

“A true gentleman and a genius,” wrote one Saints fan when he departed Paisley.

“I can’t thank Brian enough for what he did for me and my family during my time at Shrewsbury as well as what he’s done for my career on a personal note! A proper football man,” wrote former Hamilton and Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty when he left Shrewsbury.

“Sorry to see Brian go. He did a cracking job, was a good communicator and built up a good rapport with supporters. Best of luck to him for whatever comes next,” wrote a Shrews fan account.

And the vast majority of the comments were along similar lines.

What this all means for the mooted investment into the club and the future of the ‘Well Society remains to be seen, but going by his track record, I would expect Caldwell will be wary of the former and supportive of the concept of the latter at the very least.

I hope, and expect, he will soon be engaging with the new ‘Well Society board to see how the club itself and the fans can work together within the existing ownership structure to drive Motherwell forward both on and off the pitch. If it hasn’t happened already.

There are talented people at the club who care deeply about it, and one has to hope that Caldwell can harness that, fix some of the areas that have been allowed to slip over recent times (such as communication with supporters) and bring a fresh energy and direction to the whole operation as someone focused full time on the running of the club.

He will certainly have a busy summer as he supports manager Stuart Kettlewell and the recruitment team with what is shaping up to be quite the rebuild of the playing squad.

The news over the past week that Blair Spittal has signed a pre-contract agreement with Hearts for next season may have had more than a touch of inevitability about it, but just because you know you are about to receive a boot to the nether regions doesn’t make the experience any less painful.

You can’t grudge him his move. He’s 28, has given his lot for the jersey over his time at Fir Park and has been particularly outstanding this season. Such a move at this point in his career is a just reward for a top pro, a good guy, and it will be huge for him and his family.

And there is at least a crumb of comfort to be had in the fact that he is signing for a bigger club in Hearts, rather than a similar size of club, like St Mirren, who he had been linked with prior to sealing his move to Tynecastle.

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I have a lot of time for the Saints, but a couple of their supporters I know had been getting a bit big for their boots of late, crawing that they would be able to lure Spittal to Paisley. So, it was good of Hearts to step in and put their gas at a peep.

The arrival of Caldwell should bring a little of what those Saints supporters have been enjoying of late though back to Fir Park, with the town engaged, the fans and the club pulling in the same direction and, hopefully, success on the park along with it.

His reputation precedes him, and it paints a favourable picture.