Graham Alexander admits fitness of Kevin van Veen and Paul McGinn is a concern

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander is concerned about the fitness of key striker Kevin van Veen and summer signing Paul McGinn ahead of their European opener.

The pair were absent from Motherwell’s 1-0 friendly win against Partick Thistle and are doubtful for the visit of Sligo Rovers on Thursday in the first leg of the Europa Conference League second qualifying round.

After Joe Efford fired Well to victory at Firhill, Alexander said in a club video: “Paul and Kevin were late pull-outs from training the last couple of days. They both took a couple of knocks so they weren’t fit for the game.

“We have to assess how they are on Monday, whether they can train next week and prepare for the game. We feel we have good competition but we obviously need everyone as fit as possible for our games.

“It’s a little bit concerning, we will see how they are on Monday.

“But I thought the boys who played did everything we wanted them to do.”