taken from the motherwell page...
Now in his second spell at the club, Phil O'Donnell (or Uncle Phil as he is affectionately known as these days, being David Clarkson's uncle and all) was originally a product of the Bobby Jenks highly successful youth development programme in the late 80's and early 90's.
During an injury crisis in the 1990'91 campaign Phil was given a debut in an unfamiliar left-back role against St Mirren. Aged just 17 it was a tough debut against the vastly experienced Kenny McDowall but O'Donnell came through it well. So much so that several weeks later manager Tommy McLean had sufficient faith in him to give Phil a start in the midfield when Motherwell visited Ibrox on league business. For the next few seasons he would rarely be out of the side, or out of the headlines too for that matter!
O'Donnell retained his place as Motherwell crept up the table and as the march to Hampden picked up momentum. He played his part in bringing the Cup home to Fir Park and etched his name into Motherwell folklore by netting the third goal in 'Well's famous 4-3 triumph over Dundee Utd at Hampden in the Final.
The following season saw the Steelmen compete in Europe for the first time and Phil became the youngster player to represent Motherwell in a European Competition when he lined up to take on Polish outfit GKS Katowice in the Cup Winners Cup!
Despite the club being on something of a downward spiral after the Cup win, Phil continued to impress and his stature was growing in the game. A regular in the Scotland U21 squad he helped the club turn the corner and when relegation seemed a distinct possibility in season 92'93. Marooned at the foot of the table in early December, 'Well managed to scramble to safety ensuring their top flight status in the penultimate game of the season.
Phil's last full season before moving on saw him benefit enormously from playing in one of Motherwell's finest teams in years. Ably assisted in midfield by the likes of Paul Lambert, Jamie Dolan, Stevie Kirk and briefly Billy Davies, O'Donnell had a fantastic season as Motherwell finished in third place just a season avoiding the drop.
His excellent form resulted in earning his first and what amazingly turned out to be his last international cap when he was selected in Scotland's World Cup Qualifier against Switzerland at Pittodrie.
Speculation was rife that like manager Tommy McLean who had by now moved on, Phil would depart the club in the summer of 1994. In actual fact new Motherwell boss Alex McLeish made it to the start of the campaign without losing his prize asset, but the season was barely a month old when finally O'Donnell moved on.
Tommy Burns had only just taken over as Celtic boss and was desperate make a signing that would capture the imagination of the Celtic fans. In the end he had to shell out ?1.75 million to snare one of the countries hottest properties. Despite playing in just over a hundred games for Celtic, his spell in the East End of Glasgow was marred by several long-term injuries. This not only hampered his time at Celtic but also his Scotland career which never ever got started at Parkhead.
thoughts with his family, friends and all connected with motherwell...
