Scotland defender Stephen O'Donnell 'relaxed' on new Motherwell deal with one eye on Euro 2020

Motherwell defender Stephen O’Donnell will weigh up his European Championship options when it comes round to discussing his future next month – but won’t base his decisions purely on the summer tournament.

Motherwell defender Stephen O'Donnell's contract expires next month (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The wing-back’s short-term contract at Fir Park expires next month, but O’Donnell says he is ‘relaxed’ about his situation – and so are the Steelmen.

However, having helped Steve Clarke’s Scotland side into the nation’s first major tournament in a generation, his international ambitions will be factored into his decision, but primarily he is focused on Motherwell, and retaining a top six place for Stephen Robinson’s side.

“I think the focus needs to be to make sure we’re picking up the right points,” the 28-year-old said. “Then whenever things are a bit more settled, we can sit and have a conversation about the best decision for everyone involved.

"The manager’s been relaxed about it, the board’s been relaxed about it, and I’ve been relaxed about it.”

Speaking to the Motherwell Times, he added: “I’m hoping to get to the Euros in the summer, but you can’t make decisions based on that because you don’t know what’s round the corner. I want to just keep working hard and hopefully have conversations with my agent, the club and other clubs if interested, and then see what I think’s best moving forward.

“It’s a time you can maybe be a bit more selfish, but in the short term I’m only interested in one thing and that’s working my backside off for Motherwell. That will continue until I’m not here. Whether that’s in January, the summer, or in five years’ time, that’s all I’ll do.”

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