Harry Kane equalled Robert Lewandowski’s half-season Bundesliga goalscoring record with a late strike but it was Jamal Musiala who provided the real cutting edge in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 victory over 10-man Hoffenheim.

The England striker clipped home left-footed from 12 yards in added time for his 22nd goal in 16 games to match the man whose number nine shirt he inherited following his summer move from Tottenham. Kane now has next week’s home match against Werder Bremen to surpass Lewandowski’s tally by the halfway stage of the campaign.

But on a night when the death of Bayern great Franz Beckenbauer was marked with a number of tributes – the outside of the stadium emblazoned with the words ‘Danke Franz’ – it was the mercurial talents of the 20-year-old Germany international Musiala which lit up the Allianz Arena and moved his side within a point of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The first of his two goals secured a new record for the German champions, who have now scored in 65 successive home league fixtures to beat their own Bundesliga record set between 1970 and 1974.

Musiala opened the scoring in the first half with a shot from a narrow angle which goalkeeper Oliver Baumann could have dealt with better before converting a simpler 70th-minute effort to secure the result on a night of half-chances and missed opportunities.

Grischa Promel’s 74th-minute dismissal for a second yellow card ended the visitors’ hopes of staging a late comeback, although that appeared unlikely after failing to capitalise on their only good spell of the game midway through the second half when Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer marked his 500th club appearance with two good saves.

Bayern’s players all wore Beckenbauer’s number five during the warm-up, their match shirts also carried the words ‘Danke Franz’ and there was a period of silence before kick-off.

Once the game began, the hosts failed to create anything before they took the lead with their first shot in the 18th minute.

Hoffenheim were guilty of switching off as Bayern took a quick corner and that allowed Leroy Sane to picked out Musiala in space and he beat Baumann from the narrowest of angles via the far post.

It was Bayern’s 50th league goal in their 16th game and Hoffenheim’s 12th fixture without a clean sheet.

The only surprise was the home side’s failure to press home their dominance, the winter break appearing to have dulled their invention as all they could muster was a Raphael Guerreiro effort, teed up by Kane, which was comfortably turned around the post.

Hoffenheim’s best of limited opportunities saw Andrej Kramaric’s shot easily caught by Neuer.

Kane thought he had teed up Sane for Bayern’s second 10 minutes after half-time but it was ruled out for offside against the England captain, who continued to look one of Bayern’s biggest threats with a shot narrowly deflected wide.

Musiala then hit the post from distance with Thomas Muller unable to turn home the rebound and Konrad Laimer and Alphonso Davies were both denied by Baumann as Bayern began to ramp up the pressure.

But they were almost made to pay for not taking their chances as Neuer was forced into two great saves, first from Maximilian Beier’s close-range header and then Kramaric as he raced through on goal.

Even when Neuer was beaten by Beier’s volley, the ball crashed against the crossbar and that was to prove even more costly.

Musiala doubled his tally by converting Sane’s return pass and Kane grabbed his customary goal late on.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Presidential Election has been delayed by at least 28 days.

The elections were scheduled for Sunday, January 14 at Rusea’s High School in Hanover.

The postponement is due to an injunction granted by the Supreme Court following an appeal made on behalf of Beach Soccer Jamaica, the Jamaica Football Referees Association and Intercol Jamaica to become registered with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ).

The COJ registration would allow those parties ratification to become delegates ahead of the election.

Incumbent Michael Ricketts is being challenged by JFF First-Vice President Raymond Anderson. Ricketts has been in office as President since September 2017.

While optimistic about Jamaica’s chances of making a deep run in the upcoming Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championships, Head Coach John is cognizant that his team’s performance will be dependent on their build up to the tournament.

It is for that reason why Wall welcomed an ongoing four-day camp with local-based players, which will be followed by three friendly encounters in Trinidad and Tobago ahead of the big show in St Kitts and Nevis next month.

With the qualifiers scheduled for February 23 to March 2, Wall and his team engage Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-20 team in two games, with the other set to be against a senior team from the twin island republic.

Those games are scheduled for January 22 to February 2, and will be followed by a pre-tournament camp locally from February 14-21.

"I think it is another assessment round with the domestic players ever since March during those two sessions a month, then obviously, we stopped September, October, November and then commenced again December with a small scrimmage [practice] against Portmore United. I really appreciate that they were able to play us, and it gave me a lot of insights too," Wall said.

"So, I am very excited about this camp, which has now started. I am very excited about the talent that is in store, and I am looking forward to the next four days of action. It is a great opportunity for the players to impress ahead of the qualifiers and an opportunity to showcase their worth in a very busy calendar going into 2024," he added.

Wall explained that the camp in Trinidad and Tobago will also be used to engage overseas-based players and simulate a tournament format with games being played every other day.

“These games will basically put the staff to work as well because we will basically be playing every other day, so the recovery will be important which is why we want to use these games to mimic that scenario,” he explained.

“We also want to give a full scope to know who they (overseas-based players) are, see how they fit into the group and how they can aid us and ultimately see if they can qualify for the U-20s final squad. We would like to have a full calendar where everyone (local and overseas) is synchronized, but the biggest thing now is that Jamaica has started to export players in a bigger volume than it is right now, that’s one of my concerns,” he noted.

With Jamaica drawn in Group F alongside Bermuda, Martinique and Grenada, Wall pointed out that they have already down their homework on the opponents.

But, in the same breath, he argued that it would mean very little if they aren’t adequately prepared and ready to challenge for the coveted top spot, as only the group winners will progress to the next phase of the tournament to join the top teams –United States, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic –ranked in that order.

“Martinique had four of their U-20 players in that game against Lille which they lost 12-0; Grenada has five English-based players that is going to be a part of their squad and we basically have them covered, and Bermuda hasn’t started preparations as yet, so they are more of a dark horse. But for me it’s about controlling the controllable at this point in terms of what we can do,” Wall declared.

“My hope and aspiration (for the tournament) lie in the work that we put down and not the talent that we assess, so we have to do the work consistently because ultimately what I care about is making sure that Jamaica prevails,” he ended.

Manchester United left-back Alvaro Fernandez is set to return from a loan spell at Granada and join Benfica, the PA news agency understands.

Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho have already left Erik ten Hag’s side this month to join Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund respectively on loan for the rest of the season.

Hannibal Mejbri is set to join Sevilla on loan with a view to buy having also attracted interest from Everton and Joe Hugill has joined Burton for the rest of the season fresh from extending his United contract.

Facundo Pellistri and Dan Gore are others attracting interest, while left-back Fernandez looks set to head to Portuguese giants Benfica.

The 20-year-old Spaniard joined from Real Madrid in 2020 but has yet to make a first-team appearance for United, spending last season on loan at Preston before joining Granada this term.

The process has now begun to recall Fernandez from the LaLiga outfit ahead of an expected move to Benfica, with the breakdown of the deal yet to be nailed down.

A potential 10 million euros (£8.6m) permanent move has been mentioned in the Portuguese media and a loan with clauses has also been under discussion.

Qatar began their defence of the Asian Cup with a 3-0 win over Lebanon at Lusail Stadium on Friday.

Two goals from Akram Afif and another from Almoez Ali saw the host nation make a perfect start as the tournament kicked off in front of a crowd of 82,490.

The only concern for Qatar coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez was an injury to star forward Ali in the second half.

But Afif proved how important he will be to his team's hopes of retaining their crown with clinical finishes at the end of each half.

Afif opened the scoring in the 45th minute when he latched onto Ali's lay off, and the forward rounded off the win in stoppage time when he charged into the box and lifted a shot over Lebanon's goalkeeper.

Ali, who was the leading scorer when Qatar won the trophy for the first time in 2019 with nine goals, struck in the 56th. He also had a goal ruled out for offside.

But he looked in discomfort as he limped off the field in the 77th minute, holding the back of his leg.

Qatar is staging the tournament for the third time after original host China withdrew as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was supposed to be held in 2023, but was delayed to this month due to the extreme heat in the height of the summer in the Middle East.

Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset is wary of the underdog as his side kick off the Africa Cup of Nations against minnows Guinea-Bissau.

The host nation raise the curtain in the Group A clash on Saturday knowing their opponents have yet to win a match in three previous appearances at the tournament.

“We cannot underestimate Guinea-Bissau,” said Gasset on the tournament’s official website. “In these type of opening games, there is always a risk the underdog is fired up to cause an upset.”

Former West Ham striker Sebastian Haller is unavailable for the match with an ankle injury but Gasset hopes he will be back in time for the second match against Nigeria.

The Ivory Coast will be aiming for a first AFCON title since 2015 in their first home tournament in 39 years and are one of the favourites, with five English-based players, including Nottingham Forest trio Willy Boly, Serge Aurier and Ibrahim Sangare.

Guinea-Bissau are certainly not tipped to do well, with three draws and six defeats in their previous appearances, but coach Baciro Cande is targeting a shock.

“We know we can create a sensation against the hosts,” he said.

Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Ben Chilwell’s return to the Chelsea squad for Saturday’s meeting with Fulham at Stamford Bridge after missing nearly four months with a hamstring injury.

The England defender last featured during the 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in late September but is set to be named in the matchday party alongside Benoit Badiashile, who has recovered from a muscle issue.

However, Christopher Nkunku remains on the absentee list with the manager revealing that the forward’s recovery from a hip problem has become “complicated”.

Carney Chukwuemeka, who has not played since the second weekend of the Premier League season, will be assessed ahead of the clash against Fulham, while Trevoh Chalobah is training with the first team having missing the entire campaign to date.

“It’s good news about Chilwell and Badiashile,” said Pochettino. “For sure they’ll be in the squad (on Saturday). We need to assess Carney Chukwuemeka.

“Trevoh Chalobah is working with the group, we’ll assess day by day. He’s doing well. They’re so close to being involved again.

“I am worried about the situation of Nkunku. (It has been) now 10 days that he can’t train. We’re assessing him.

“He suffered a small issue and it became complicated. After six months that we were waiting for him, he was so close to feeling comfortable, he started against Crystal Palace (on December 27). We’re disappointed. We want him (back) as soon as possible.”

The France international was made to wait until December for his first start for the club following his summer move from RB Leipzig, after a knee injury sustained in pre-season ruled him out.

His absence places further pressure on Pochettino’s limited attacking options, with Nicolas Jackson away representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations and Armando Broja searching for form after returning from an ACL injury in September.

The PA news agency understands that striker David Fofana will join Burnley on loan for the rest of the season after his stay at Bundesliga side Union Berlin was cut short.

Meanwhile the club confirmed on Friday that Netherlands Under-21 international Ian Maatsen, who has made only three starts this season, has moved to Borussia Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

“It’s good for the club, it’s good for him,” said Pochettino. “We hope he’ll have the possibility to play more than here. For both sides it’s a good decision.”

The manager called on his players to re-find the momentum saw them win four out five games in all competitions prior to Tuesday’s defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

Victory against Marco Silva’s side in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off would see them at least temporarily move above eighth-placed Manchester United, while a win of sufficient margin could see them climb as high as seventh, their highest league position since November 2022.

“We didn’t perform badly against Middlesbrough,” said Pochettino. “We came from a few victories. We need to keep the momentum.

“It’s true that after the first 90 minutes we are 1-0 down. We need to keep the belief, the team is preparing well, confident for (Fulham). I’m so sure we’ll do a good job.

“But when you lose a game to a Championship team, you need to accept the criticism. We have the chance (on Saturday) to put all these bad feelings out by performing in the right way.”

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi hopes his team can have “another ideal half” to their season as they prepare to face Monza on Saturday.

His side are two points clear at the top of Serie A going into Saturday’s game and got 2024 off to a winning start with a 2-1 win against Verona last weekend.

An impressive first half to the season sees Inter having lost only one league game, a 2-1 reverse against Sassuolo in September, and they have won five of their last six Serie A games.

Monza are currently 11th in the league having earned their first win in four games last Saturday with a 3-2 victory against Frosinone and Inzaghi warned that Monza are “an opponent of quality”.

He told Inter TV: “We know that we have had an ideal start (to the season); the squad is ambitious and we know it won’t be simple, but we want to double down with another ideal half to the season.

“It will be a difficult game against a good side that has a great coach and some players that were important with Inter: it will be nice to see (Danilo) D’Ambrosio, (Roberto) Gagliardini, and Valentin Carboni again.

“We need to put in a good performance – Monza is an opponent of quality.”

Federico Dimarco could be involved in the Monza clash after featuring from the bench against Verona, while January signing Tajon Buchanan could also make his Inter debut.

Buchanan joined the club from Club Brugge last Friday and Inzaghi praised his “great quality”, adding that the wing-back has been involved in training this week.

“Yes, we haven’t trained yet today but Federico is much better. He has recovered and we saw him at the end of the Verona match,” Inzaghi added.

“TJ has come in in the best way; he is a young player of great quality, with some experience already.

“It will take some time for him to integrate but he underwent three big training sessions this week”.

Pep Guardiola has spoken of his admiration for Sven-Goran Eriksson after the former England manager revealed he could have less than a year to live.

Eriksson, 75, went public on Thursday with the news that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The Swede said that in the “best case” he may only have around a year left.

Eriksson managed England from 2001-06 and led them to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments before later spending a season in charge at Manchester City.

Guardiola, the current City boss, said: “It is sad news. He’s a true gentleman.

“He has been here, and with the England national team and in other countries.

“I admire the courage to explain the situation. Of course will be with his loved ones and hopefully the hope is the last thing we lose.

“I’m sure he’s going to battle with the doctors and everyone to maybe can find a solution, to extend this period and the battle and go well.

“On behalf of Man City and all of us here, huge hugs and huge support. Anything we can do, of course we will do it.”

Eriksson had a long and distinguished career in football management, forged largely in Italy where, among his successes, he won Serie A and the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Lazio.

He also had jobs in other countries including his native Sweden, Portugal, Mexico, the Ivory Coast and China.

He stood down from his most recent job, as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad, last year due to health problems.

Eriksson has revealed news of his diagnosis came as a huge shock.

He told TalkTV: “I got dizzy and I fell to the ground and my children took me to the hospital.

“And they did a lot of examinations and four hours later, I was diagnosed with cancer. So that’s how it happened. I felt totally well. It came like a very, very big surprise.

“You can’t operate it and you can take medicine to try to stop it (spreading) too fast and that’s what I’m doing. But sooner or later, it will happen. Let’s hope later rather than sooner.”

He added: “When you get a message like that it’s like a shock because I was fully fit, I think. Rather fit as well and training. So it came like from nowhere.

“So, of course, you feel very bad and you are shocked when you get it, and I think that’s normal. But you have to fight against it, and that’s what I’m trying to do, at least.”

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Boss Unai Emery admits Aston Villa are unlikely to make big moves in the transfer market this month.

Villa are second in the Premier League ahead of the weekend with Emery happy with the squad.

They go to Everton on Sunday and despite still being in the title hunt, the Europa Conference League and the FA Cup, Emery has ruled out major changes in January.

“We are not being very focused in the transfer window because we are second in the table and we are recovering some players that have been out since the start of the season (Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey),” said Emery, who won December’s Manager of the Month.

“I am very happy with the players. The commitment with the players is really good and the wish and desire to work hard is really good.

“We are going to face three competitions until the end of the season, Premier League, FA Cup and Europa Conference League, and it will be very difficult. We need players to be available and be ready with good performances to play in our idea and our style.

“We have the players here to do that.”

Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings are long-term absentees with knee injuries while Lucas Digne (hamstring) is also out.

Pau Torres (ankle) and Youri Tielemans (calf) have returned to training although the game could come too soon and Bertrand Traore is with Burkina Faso for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Emery added: “They (Everton) are progressively getting better and playing being very competitive. With their issue with the points (deduction), they are playing well and being very competitive in each match.

“It’s very difficult to beat them in their stadium with their fans. We respect them a lot.

“They’re going to be very competitive at home and we’re going to prepare the match respecting them a lot.”

Ange Postecoglou believes an alignment between all the key figures at Tottenham has allowed them to move quickly in the January transfer window.

Postecoglou repeatedly made clear his desire to bring in a centre-back early and Spurs completed the signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa on Thursday, with Djed Spence heading on loan in the other direction.

It capped a busy week for Tottenham after they secured the loan addition of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on Tuesday and allowed Eric Dier to depart after 10 seasons to join Bayern Munich.

Spurs’ quick work is a big shift in strategy after previously waiting until the end of the month to secure signings and Postecoglou paid tribute to chairman Daniel Levy, technical director Johan Lange and chief football officer Scott Munn.

“It’s easier said than done because while we might have a desire to do things early, you’ve got to have all parties agreeing to that and it’s not easy to do, especially in January,” Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United.

“The key thing for us was from the chairman to Johan and his team and Scott, we were all very aligned in what we wanted and we got our targets early.

“It was pretty clear what we wanted to do and if it didn’t happen, then we’ve moved on. But I think the fact that we were all pretty aligned on what our objectives were allowed us to be sitting here now with two players in – not so much for Sunday, but we know we’ve got a two-week break which means we get at least a couple of weeks to get the lads up to speed.

“We had some pretty clear objectives. If there’s an opportunity for us to get better, we’ll take it, but what we were trying to achieve going into it, I’m really pleased we’ve got two players in who I think will play a really important part for us.”

Postecoglou has continued to reshape the squad this month with former captain Hugo Lloris joining Los Angeles FC and Dier ending his nine-and-a-half-years at Tottenham to join Bayern.

“The club made a conscious decision to change the way we went about things and for that to happen you need change in personnel,” the Australian reflected.

“Hugo left and Eric moves on to another chapter in his career, he’s another one who has had a fantastic career here at Tottenham.

“Eric’s left his mark, he was part of a very very good side who made many great memories for our supporters here and he certainly leaves his mark here at Tottenham.

“He moves to another big club and hopefully has success in the rest of his career.

“For us, it’s a constant evolution of traying to inch forward to becoming the team we want to be.”

Postecoglou expects Dragusin to be involved at Old Trafford despite still waiting for his work permit and Micky van de Ven is fit enough to start.

Cristian Romero has also returned to training and could feature against United, but Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies are both out.

Lo Celso’s absence could earn Werner his full debut.

Erling Haaland is still out but Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start for Manchester City at Newcastle on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

Striker Haaland is still troubled by the foot injury that has sidelined him since early December.

The Premier League champions, however, are boosted by De Bruyne’s progress after the playmaker’s return from a lengthy lay-off as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Huddersfield.

City also expect midfielder Jack Grealish to be available after illness, but defender John Stones is not yet ready to return from an ankle injury.

City manager Guardiola said at a press conference: “Jack has been sick. Hopefully today he’s back. Erling is out and John is out.”

De Bruyne said last week he expected to be on the bench at Newcastle, but asked if he could start, Guardiola said: “Yes. What I saw yesterday he looks really good and dynamic.

“The minutes he played were really good, better than the training sessions before the Huddersfield game when he was a little bit not what he is.

“But that’s normal when you come from five months of injury. He had highs and lows in the training sessions, but that is completely normal. The important thing is he is getting better.”

Jamaican international Dujuan 'Whisper' Richards is gradually working his way up the ranks at English Premier League (EPL) outfit Chelsea, as he was recently promoted to first-team training at Stamford Bridge.

According to a Chelsea Chronicle report, Richards, who was among a number of exciting young talent recruited by Chelsea from all over the world, has progressed rapidly since his arrival at the West London club late last year, and expectations for his future with Mauricio Pochettino's side are high, especially as he continues to improve in his craft.

Richards, a product of Craig Butler's Phoenix Academy renowned for producing Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, burst into prominence last year with his performances in the ISSA schoolboy football competitions. The exciting youngster’s highlight reels from the tournament went viral on social media and attracted the attention of several Premier League clubs. Among them, Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Richards spent a trial at Newcastle, but in the end, it was Chelsea who won the race for his signature, as they wrapped up a pre-contract in June.

By then, Richards had already become a fully-fledged senior Jamaican international. He made his senior Reggae Boyz debut in March against Trinidad and Tobago, when he became the youngest player to represent Jamaica in the last 20 years.

Richards was also included in Jamaica’s squad for the Concacaf Gold Cup and got on the scoresheet in a 4-1 win over the Soca Warriors. That goal etched his name in the annals of the country's football history as the youngest Jamaican to score in the competition and the second youngest player overall, behind Canada’s Alphonso Davies.

Having waited patiently until his 18th birthday on November 10th to join Chelsea, the towering striker is now making the most of the opportunity, as he has reportedly impressed coaches with his performances since transitioning to regular first-team training.

Erik ten Hag wished Jadon Sancho luck at Borussia Dortmund but would not be drawn on the winger’s long-term future following the Manchester United misfit’s temporary return to his former club.

The 23-year-old left the Bundesliga side for Old Trafford to much fanfare in 2021, joining in a £73million deal after a long, well-documented pursuit of the England international.

But Sancho has struggled to live up to the hype and been banished since claiming he had been made a “scapegoat” after Ten Hag said he did not reach the “level” required to be involved in their squad at Arsenal.

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The winger has been training away from the main group since September and has now returned to Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the season without an option to buy, saying it felt like he was “coming home”.

“I hope he’s doing well, so I wish him the best of luck,” Ten Hag said. “That’s it. I hope he’s doing well and he will be a success.”

The Dutchman has been reluctant to speak about Sancho during his four-month absence and quickly shut down further talk about the United man.

Asked what Sancho has to do at Dortmund in order to get back in the United team, he replied curtly: “No, I already replied. I think it’s enough.”

Sancho followed Donny van de Beek in leaving on loan, with other peripheral players likely to follow as United’s injury issues begin to ease.

The Red Devils have been beset by problems this term, but they are easing ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham.

Lisandro Martinez could be involved for the first time since injuring a foot in September, while Casemiro has been out with a hamstring complaint picked up in October.

“We have had a lot of injuries,” Ten Hag said.

“This week in training, so the last couple of days, Licha Martinez training, Casemiro training, Luke Shaw training, so there are players returning. They are coming in for selection for Sunday.

“(Christian) Eriksen was ill in the week, he will return. Antony will return. Amad (Diallo) will return.

“We have more choices in this moment in the squad to put out a starting XI and to create a bench that is stronger.”

Ten Hag’s options are improving and the United boss will be hoping that is matched by an upturn in players’ form.

Antony has been particularly underwhelming after joining from Ajax for 100million euros (£84.8m) in 2022, with a slow first season following by a poor second campaign.

The Brazil international was given a leave of absence in September to deal with allegations of abuse against him that the winger has always strongly denied.

Police inquiries in Brazil and the UK are ongoing and Ten Hag believes off-field issues have had “an impact on him”.

“I can explain (his struggles),” Ten Hag, who worked with Antony at Ajax, said. “I think it’s very simple.

“I think his off-field issues stop him playing. I think first year was OK and I think in the pre-season he was very OK. First four games were very good.

“He was out and then he came back. He didn’t deliver the performance we should expect from him and he can do so much better.

“You mention Ajax, also I look back there so his effectiveness, his end product was very high there and also in the Champions League very high.

“So, I am sure he’s capable of doing this.”

Motherwell chairman Jim McMahon denied their fundraising video was akin to “begging for money” as he stressed the club was not in financial difficulty.

A video that appealed directly to Hollywood celebrities and finished with a young fan saying “Taylor Swift, gie’s some dosh” has been viewed more than two million times on social media and already led to enquires about investing.

However, it sparked embarrassment among many fans and led to concerns about the finances of a club which lost £1million in the 2021-22 campaign and was expected to announce similar financial figures for last season.

McMahon stressed the fan-owned club had cumulatively broken even since the Well Society assumed majority ownership in 2016 and explained they were looking for either more members, sponsorship or new investment to “de-risk the business”.

The 74-year-old was unaware of any criticism of the advertising agency-produced video and said: “We are not desperate for money. We are financially stable and we have enough money to see us through this season, next and maybe a bit of the next.

“So I don’t see it as begging for money and I am not embarrassed by it.

“I don’t think it’s a desperate cry for money because it isn’t. If it comes across that way, I can only say to fans, ‘that’s not what it was meant to be’.

“It was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek take on some of the trends that are happening in football just now and an attempt to encourage folk into the shop.

“We had more Well Society members sign up in the first couple of hours of the video than the last two or three months. And we have already had about 10 declarations of interest – can we find out more about the ability to invest?

“It’s part of our strategy to use our other contacts, mainly into the (United) States and other parts of the world, to say: ‘Here’s what we are. Here’s what defines what we are as a club, are you interested?'”

Many fans will wonder why the club needs to seek investment after receiving a record £3.25million fee for David Turnbull in 2020 and taking up an interest-free £3m Covid-19 recovery loan from the Scottish Government.

The club’s wage costs increased by 60 per cent in five years up until the summer of 2022 and Motherwell outspent the likes of St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Ross County by £1-2million on wages during that latter season.

The Well Society has already committed more than £1m into the club, mostly through a loan that is unlikely to be repaid, and fans continue to contribute to a reserve fund.

McMahon, who plans to step down at the end of the season, admitted there was a “reasonably big gap” between costs and income if they do not perform well through player sales, cup runs or league position.

“Five, six years ago we didn’t have big injections of money from Americans or other people,” said McMahon as he denied the fan-ownership model was failing.

“James Anderson at Hearts is putting £5million a year in. You have Dave Cormack at Aberdeen. You have the Hibs money.

“There’s money coming in that is making it more difficult for us to compete on the pitch with these clubs. I think we react to it by trying to see if we can accrue money from other sources.

“We are not in financial difficulty, we are not trying to sell the club, we are trying to give it the best chance for the future. We should be examining the model continually to see if it’s still fit for purpose.

“I would tick the box of working jointly with someone whose values align with the Well Society. I guess the board would go out to the members with the proposition.”