the club signed Kris Boyd from Kilmarnock in January 2006. On 21 January, he was sent out on loan to English League One club Doncaster Rovers in order to gain first team experience. He scored five times for Doncaster. Motherwell At the start of the 2006–07 season, McCormack was told he did not feature in new Rangers manager Paul Le Guen's plans and was released. On 11 July 2006, he signed a two-year deal at Motherwell. His new manager Maurice Malpas, who had worked with him at Scotland under-21, said that he had seen him improve by playing regularly at Doncaster. McCormack made his Well debut on 30 July as the team began the SPL season with a 2–1 home loss to Rangers, in which he assisted their goal by Phil O'Donnell. His first season at Fir Park was disrupted by illness that caused an overactive thyroid gland and ruled him out from September until February 2007. On 28 February, he scored his first goal for the team, a consolation in a 2–1 home loss to First Division team St Johnstone in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. His only league goals of the campaign came on 12 May, one in each half of a 3–2 home loss to St Mirren. In 2007–08, McCormack became a fixture in the Motherwell first team, where he found himself better suited to playing in a 4–3–3 formation, receiving the October 2007 Young Player of the Month award. The season also saw an improvement in his goal tally as he scored a total of 11 goals, although he reached this mark on 16 February with a brace against Gretna and suffered a goal drought in the remaining 14 games of the season. Cardiff City In January 2008, McCormack was linked with a move to Premier League sides Wigan Athletic, even coming as close as having a contract ready to be signed with the club, and Middlesbrough but no deal was agreed and he eventually signed for Championship side Cardiff City on 28 June on a free transfer, although the clubs would later agree on a compensation fee of £120,000. On his arrival, McCormack stated that one of the biggest reasons that persuaded him to sign for the club, alongside the chance to play first-team football and the group of Scottish players on the club's books, was the presence of his idol Robbie Fowler, only