'This is crazy': Scottish football's newest recruit left tantalised by Hearts-Rangers experience

As first impressions go, it was a good one. But it would not have surprised anyone had this relatively young German coach bore a rather stooped aspect when he walked in, as if carrying a heavy load. Such is the heavy responsibly handed to him amid supposedly extreme supporters’ rancour and general unhappiness at a place where the signs inform guests they are visiting “Scotland’s biggest and best fans’ run club”.

Motherwell have another proud boast as well, one that is less contentious. They have been a top-flight club since 1985. That’s 40 years of defying the odds when every other similarly sized club, and far bigger ones, have succumbed to the drop at some point. Not Motherwell. Not yet, at least.

It’s too early to claim they’re being haunted by the spectre of relegation. Indeed, as recently as December they were sitting fourth after a 4-3 win over Dundee United. However, after just one win from their last eleven matches, including a current run of five straight defeats, there’s clearly some twitchiness. There’s plenty of acrimony too.

It’s been cited as the major reason why Stuart Kettlewell walked into chief executive Brian Caldwell’s office and told him he was resigning, and not to bother trying to persuade him otherwise.

Kettlewell has since opened up on the abuse that convinced him to take this extreme decision, recently claiming he was in the verge of jumping “over the advertising boards” to confront people directly. “I’ve got a breaking point, in that sense,” he said. “I can be a pretty aggressive guy.”

Whether Wimmer will have to employ some self-restraint remains to be seen. A lot will hinge on results, and he’s hardly been given a straightforward introduction – Dundee United, Dundee and Rangers in a seven-day period, starting this weekend.

He makes his bow at Tannadice against a team who Motherwell have beaten three times already this season. Losing that one risks creating the impression he’s already a downgrade on Kettlewell, although that would clearly be a ludicrous conclusion to draw so early in the German’s reign. He is looking forwards to fostering good relations with the Motherwell fans, the ultras group Block E included.

Unsurprisingly, the supporters were the subject of one of the very first questions put to him at his unveiling. Had he considered the toll that fans’ criticism had taken on his predecessor and family? Kettlewell has spoken of his wife and children having to leave games early, such was the incessant level of abuse.

Wimmer has some experience of being a victim of fan discord. He hasn’t worked since being chased out of Austria Vienna amid supporter disenchantment and poor results having found the task of succeeding the popular Manfred Schmid beyond him. At least he doesn’t have this problem at Motherwell. Unfairly or not, Kettlewell was the target of considerable ire, for the playing style as much as anything. He’s not being missed – yet.

“I'm not in a position to talk about this,” said Wimmer, when asked about the well-publicised reason for Kettlewell’s departure. “This is the past, and it's not my topic. No, I'm looking forward, and I like to have good connections to the fans. I think if I work 24-7 for the club and give everything for the club, then yes, I think it could work.”

He was quick to point out that he has his own ideas about how football should be played. “I want that we play proactive football, try to play with our principles, try to be dominant also and have high ball wins,” he said. “And my building blocks are from control, dynamic, to be goal-oriented, and this I want to say, and bring energy into the club, have many duels and, energy and atmosphere also to the fans. I think it's a traditional club, and a traditional club needs intensity.”

Make of that what you will, Motherwell fans. What had attracted him to Fir Park, Wimmer was asked. “What attracted me was really good interviews,” he said. “As Brian called me, and (chairman) Kyrk (Macmillan) called me, and we had really nice interviews. And I had the feeling that they were really interesting to me, and that I wanted to come to the club. I've watched many games. The team is very, very interesting. I'm convinced that it fits to my playing style. So, yeah, when they say, ‘come on, we do this’. I say, ‘yes!’”

He is only looking up, not down. Top six is a target, he stressed, with Motherwell currently lying eight, seven points from third and four points from 11th place. Wimmer is excited by the possibilities, with a mooted move to Bristol Rovers in December having foundered following problems obtaining a work permit.

According to Motherwell, such paperwork is all in hand. Wimmer becomes only the club’s second-ever permanent manager from outwith the British Isles. The genial, bespectacled Harri Kampman was appointed manager 27 years ago this month following the departure of Alex McLeish for Hibs. The Finn promised “Uefa Cup football every season” but left eight months later with his efforts having been dogged by inconsistent results on the pitch, although it was a memorable chapter.

Wimmer is the club’s 15th permanent manager since then – Kampman was only the 14th in the club’s history. It’s a bold step to appoint someone whose knowledge of Scottish football is clearly limited but nonetheless such thinking outside the box ought to be applauded. The appointment seems to have gone down well with the Motherwell fanbase.

In any case, Wimmer stressed he is not completely ignorant when it comes to the game in this country. “I followed UK football, but I also followed Scottish football, and I like it,” he explained. “I like the intensity….the honesty from the football, and I like the passion. I like also the fans. They are passionate. This is crazy. I like it.”

He was at Tynecastle on Sunday to watch Hearts - one of Motherwell’s rivals for a top six place – against Rangers. “I was surprised by the energy and the power in this game,” he said. “I'm looking forward to the first game (on Saturday).”

“If you saw the fans, in my opinion, they live for football,” he added, with reference to his visit to Gorgie. “I don't know…in Germany you would say this is perfect. I like this, this is honest football. I think we should give the fans, with our performance on the pitch, this passion back. To confirm this passion!

“Do you know what I mean? To confirm this passion with giving everything, giving everything on the pitch. To leave the heart on the pitch, to go into each duel, to play intensively. The result? I don’t know. In football everything can happen, but you can always bring the best performance, you can always bring the best effort in the 90 minutes.”

That may or may not prove the case but Motherwell’s record as top division survivalists could hinge on Wimmer being able to hit the ground running.