at the end of June 2009, two days before the club's Europa League first round qualifying tie against Llanelli of Wales. To do this he fended off competition from Aidy Boothroyd, Lawrie Sanchez, and Steve Staunton. At the start of his reign he had a limited squad, and had to draft in youth players for the Llanelli game. The club had sold off some of their best players, whilst loan deals had ended for others. He also brought in Peter Ward as assistant manager. After taking the job, Gannon said that he hoped to bring in up to six players, most of them from England to bolster a squad threadbare after summer exits. On 2 July, his first game in charge in the Europa League first round qualifying first leg, Motherwell lost 1–0 against Llanelli. However, on the away leg in Wales, the "Steelmen" recorded a 3–0 win to send them into the next round. Motherwell then beat Flamurtari Vlorë 8–2 on aggregate after an 8–1 victory in the home leg. Motherwell were then knocked out by Romanian side FC Steaua București 6–1 on aggregate. Gannon was sent to the stand in Motherwell's Europa League match against Bucharest; however Gannon later stated he did not know why he, or his assistant manager were sent off by Spanish referee Carlos Clos Gómez. His first league victory was a 3–1 win over Kilmarnock at Fir Park. Gannon was named Manager of the Month for October 2009, but he warned of a clear out in the January transfer window. His young team impressed, but proved to be inconsistent. Gannon had a dispute with the SFA head of referee development Hugh Dallas, following Gannon's criticism of Scottish referees. Gannon had claimed the standard of refereeing was "bringing the game into disrepute". He suggested a league table for referees. He then felt the official response to his criticisms to be disrespectful. Following this he temporarily refused to speak to the media, claiming he did not wish to cause further controversy. He also criticised his predecessor Mark McGhee, after McGhee speculated in the press on possible transfers of Motherwell players. As well as this he had a public-falling out with club captain Stephen Craigan. On 28 December, Gannon was sacked by Motherwell, with the club indicating that Gannon was "not fully committed to the club" as the reason for their decision. He had been rumoured to