Archie Mair has lifted the lid on a frantic transfer move and debut for Motherwell on loan from Norwich City.
The goalkeeper came into the 3-1 Premiership defeat at Hibs off the back of a madcap 24 hours. Fir Park number one Aston Oxborough dislocated his thumb while back-up Krisztián Hegyi was recalled to West Ham United, leaving boss Stuart Kettlewell staring at the possibility of going without a senior keeper for the match.
Mair has senior experience with the likes of Morecambe, Notts County and Gateshead and this season, was in and around senior involvement with Norwich City. The goalkeeper was signed by the Canaries in 2020 after showing potential at Aberdeen.
Speaking on how the move came about, Mair said: “It has been a whirlwind, I basically came in from training on Friday and we had a meeting, I was preparing for the game at Norwich on Sunday, and then I came out of the meeting about two o’clock. And had a phone call basically saying ‘get ready, get yourself up the road’.
“So I gathered that boots and stuff, drove down to Stansted airport and flew up, got picked up from the airport, stayed in the hotel Friday night and then went and met the boys before the game. So yeah, it’s been a whirlwind. It’s tough but at the same time you just want to go and play.
“It’s a game of football really and you’re ready for it. I’ve trained all week, it’s obviously a bit different having to fly up with whatever and meeting the boys for the first time – it can be tough but at the end of the day it’s a game of football so it was fine.
“When I got the phone call after training yesterday I was delighted and raring to go really. So there weren’t any questions on my part. I was straight in the car and driving to the airport and all happy.”
Mair has had plenty of senior pros helping out along the way, including Scotland international Angus Gunn and ex-Motherwell keeper George Long at Norwich City. Tim Krul has also worked with him as has Joe Lewis at Aberdeen. He explained: “I came off the back of last season playing a lot, playing week in, week out and this year I was just kind of third choice.
“I had a spell on the bench where Angus Gunn got injured as well so it’s just mainly training, travelling to all the games, doing the warm-up and things like that. So I was kind of itching to get out and play by the time January came round.
“I think I’ve been lucky with the senior goalkeepers I’ve had at all clubs even when I was at Aberdeen, Joe Lewis then. At Norwich I’ve had Tim Krul and then Angus Gunn now, they’ve all been really good to work with and try and learn off.
“George was in the shower and I was like, ‘oh I’m way up to Motherwell’, so it was literally just a ‘good luck’ and then out the door really. He’s obviously spoke about playing for Motherwell before but it was so quick on Friday I didn’t really have the chance to have a big conversation about it. It’s the closest I’ve been in a while so they’re all delighted about that, they can get to games a lot easier.”
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