DIAMOND PLEASER

New boss Jens is already in the good books of Well fans after scoring a winner against Airdrie and lining up at Carrow Road under Lambert

- BY MICHAEL GANNON

JENS BERTHEL ASKOU was not trying to win easy brownie points with fans when unveiled by Motherwell yesterday but he might just have done so anyway.

The 42-year-old Dane revealed his big managerial inspiration is a Fir Park legend... and he's also managed to score a winner over the Steelmen's fiercest rivals.

Not a bad start.

Askou has taken a long and winding road through a playing and coaching career that has seen him go from his native Denmark to Sweden, via the Faroe Islands as well as the Czech Republic.

But it was a goal in a bounce game in Scotland that took him in a different direction and has set him on a collision path with an old pal. Askou notched in a bounce game against Airdrie to earn a move to Norwich, where he would later come under the wing of Well hero Paul Lambert and line up alongside now Rangers gaffer Russell Martin.

It's funny how things work out.

Askou said: "Yeah, I scored against Airdrie, so I've got a good head start here!

"I'd spent two years in Turkey previously and went on trial. Bryan Gunn was the manager, so we were doing a training camp up here.

"We had some sessions and we played a training game against Airdrie - luckily someone hit me straight in my face and it went in.

"Then I succeeded in convincing them that I was worth keeping.

"I spent two good years in Norwich, met some very nice people there, also some very nice Scottish people.

"I was lucky enough to have two Scottish managers.