By Paul Marshall
November 17 2003

Terry Butcher is resigned to losing midfielder Stephen Pearson during the winter transfer window despite only a couple of enquires for the player so far. The 20 year old has been targeted by Celtic and 12 Premiership clubs including Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers for a possible move during the transfer window.


Butcher told the BBC " He is a quality player who can play at the top level in my opinion. People may think they can take him for nothing, but there are supposedly a lot of clubs interested and we've had one or two inquiries. "






Pearson's contract at Fir Park runs out at the end of this season but Butcher feels Motherwell are still in control. Butcher added " We are in control of the situation because we have him under contract, so we will have to wait and see. "




Pearson made his Scotland debut on Saturday against Holland in the Euro 2004 play off. He told the official site " It doesn't get any better than this. " I thought I was only in the squad for experience but it was a dream come true to get on."


" Berti just told me to go on and play against Seedorf. It was a great team performance and I'm delighted for Berti because he's been criticised in the past. "


" It was daunting coming into the game against Seedorf as I've watched him on TV for years and I know he's a world-class player. "


" But there was nothing to lose and the result has now given us a great chance to qualify. "