Former Sligo Rovers manager Ian Barraclough has been appointed manager of Scottish Premier League side Motherwell.

The 44-year-old, who won the League of Ireland title with Sligo, as well as an FAI Cup and Setanta Cup, has been out of work since parting company with the club in June this year.

He now plans to bring silverware to Fir Park, having been confirmed as Stuart McCall’s replacement, who resigned in November after four years oin charge.

Barraclough, though, must first bring the club out of its current slump that sees them 10th in the league with just three wins from 15 games.

“It will be a hard task to take over from Stuart but one I’m very excited to take up,” Baraclough told the club website. “I’m a positive guy and I’m upbeat most of the time. The players will find that and I’ll try and get that across to them. I want this club to feel energised and start climbing the table as soon as possible.”

He added: “Short term my aim is to keep this club in the Premiership. There is no easy way to go about that and it is a situation that hasn’t been at this football club in a few years but it doesn’t scare me.

“I feel as though there is more than enough to push us up the table in the short term then try and build for long term by producing players. I am big on development, so the young players will certainly have a pathway to the first team if they are good enough.

“I want to win trophies. Why not Motherwell Football Club? Why can’t we win the Premiership?

“You’ve got to go out with that thinking otherwise you won’t achieve anything. To have days out in the cup are great for fans, but they are important. It’s a way into Europe and I’ve been used to that and want more of it, as I’m sure the fans do too.”