Motherwell are replacing their oft-criticised pitch but will have to sacrifice money for players to do so.

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee will have to see what he can do about replacing outgoing players with a reduced budget. The cost of replacing the under soil heating and laying a new pitch will be coming out of the playing side of the clubs finances. McGhee is willing to put up with this restriction because it will allow his team to play their best football at Fir Park again. Work began on the total overhaul of the pitch following Saturday's final league game of the season, a 2-1 loss to Kilmarnock. The visitors conjured a late winner that belied the bumpy surface when David Fernandez back-heeled the ball into the path of Mehdi Taouil, who jinked his way through the penalty box before firing home. Motherwell defender Brian McLean had cancelled out Danny Invincibile's opener in a game that could be a farewell for several home players. McGhee will have to wheel and deal to replace the likes of Stephen Hughes and Graeme Smith, who both look set to move on when their contracts expire. Bob Malcolm also played his last game for Motherwell after coming on for the on-loan Maros Klimpl, whose future is uncertain as he bids to secure a pay-off from Danish side FC Midtjylland.

The Motherwell manager said: "It's £250-300,000 that I won't get to spend on players but we can't have a football club and hope to achieve the things we want to achieve, and play the quality of football we desire to play, on a pitch like this. Some of the football on Saturday was excellent on such a diabolical surface. Players of both teams deserve credit for that. But put us on a good pitch - we've shown in the last few weeks away at St Mirren and Hamilton, some of the football we played was sublime."

With Motherwell still in the race for a Fair Play place in the Europa League, McGhee will have to act fast to find replacements to augment his depleted squad as his team's season might begin on 2 July. Motherwell and St Mirren will find out tomorrow (Tuesday) which of them have ended the season at the top of SFA's Fair Play League, which secures entry to the Europa League qualifiers. On Friday the SFA said it was "too close to call" and both teams earned one yellow card in their final SPL games. Paul Quinn was booked for kicking the ball at a grounded Tim Clancy moments after being warned following a confrontation with Taouil, but McGhee believes his men deserve the European spot for their overall approach. He said: "I only said what I always say before they go out, don't get involved with the referee, don't get involved with the opposition and don't get booked for anything stupid. Paul Quinn did get booked for something silly late in the game and that was unnecessary. Apart from that they did what they have always done and that is what has got us into this position - they showed great discipline. More than that it is our general demeanour on the pitch - they play with a smile on their faces."

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