Sutton relieved to be 'home' after messy Hearts divorce

John Sutton vowed to recapture his best form under Stuart McCall after securing his departure from a "complicated and messy" situation at Hearts.

The 29-year-old striker, who played for the Fir Park side between 2008 and 2011, agreed a return to the Lanarkshire club after being released from his Tynecastle deal.

"It was a bit messy," he said after signing a two-year deal. "I think when the season finished I was part of the plans at Hearts. Administration was on the horizon, or was certainly being mentioned, but I was part of the football plans. Then a couple of weeks after that I wasn't part of the football plans. That is what changed things for me and things got a bit complicated. I think something may have been on the horizon in terms of coming here a bit earlier, but then administration hit. But that is an end to it now. There has been a lot going on but it is good to be back."

The Fir Park club have surpassed expectations in recent years, with third then second place finishes in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League but McCall has admitted the coming campaign may prove his most testing yet. There will be an onus on the likes of Lawson, Vigurs and Sutton to show they can replace those who have moved on but the former is eagerly anticipating the challenge.

"What Motherwell have achieved in the last couple of seasons has been brilliant," said Lawson. "The manager has built a very good team despite losing players. It's up to myself, Iain and whoever else comes in to step into these boys' shoes and carry on that good work. A lot of teams will believe they can challenge and push Celtic next season but after we finished second last season that has to be our aim as well this year."

Lawson has become accustomed to proving people wrong. After being released by Celtic, the midfielder elected for a fresh start with County, then in the second division. In his six years in Dingwall he helped the club reach the top flight, and also featured in the 2010 Scottish Cup final against Dundee United. It has been a gratifying return to the top and Lawson believes joining Motherwell represents another step forward.

"When I left Celtic, people thought my career would spiral down the way from there," he said. "But you can still go and carve out a career and I like to think I've done that. I like to look at myself and believe I have done well and progressed with the club. It's something which I'm proud of that I didn't go down the way and drift out of football. I've managed to come back to the SPL.

"I see moving to Motherwell as a step up and I'm really looking forward to it. Getting the chance to play in Europe is a bonus as I didn't think about that when I had the chance to move here. I've played regularly at County for six years and now I need to prove myself to the Motherwell fans, the manager and the players here. I'm looking forward to that chance."

Taken from the Herald