Mark McGhee will attempt to tie down key Motherwell players on long-term contracts after adding Steven Hammell and Simon Lappin to his squad.Hammell returned to Fir Park in a £110,000 deal 18 months after leaving for Southend and will be a straight replacement for Plymouth Argyle signing Jim Paterson.

McGhee, whose side have another free weekend after their Scottish Cup tie with Dundee was postponed, signed midfielder Lappin on loan from Norwich and may yet bring in Bob Malcolm.

Internal talks will continue with Keith Lasley, who is out of contract at the end of the season along with Ross McCormack, who has attracted interest from Wigan and Middlesbrough.

And McGhee said: "Even all the boys who are under contract, people like (Stephen) Craigan and (Paul) Quinn, these boys deserve new contracts.

"So in the next week or so, and certainly before the AGM on the 25th, I expect to be sitting down with (chief executive) Ian Stillie and coming up with packages for all these players.

"Ross McCormack is still a Motherwell player and until he isn't we will continue to talk to him and try to persuade him to stay a bit longer."

Despite the closure of the transfer window McGhee could yet sign Malcolm, who is a free agent following the termination of his contract with Derby.

The Well boss said: "I honestly don't know what the situation officially is with Bob so until I know that I can't comment really except to say we did want to bring him in and that's not changed."

McGhee did not want to lose Paterson, whose contract expired at the close of the season, but he was pleased the £250,000 fee from Paul Sturrock's Argyle allowed him to sign 25-year-old left-back Hammell.

McGhee said: "Steven Hammell is an experienced player, he knows the club, he knows the boys, the fans know him.

"He has a little bit of experience down south which I think will have improved him as a player and we are glad to have him as a replacement for Jim Paterson, who has been a very good player for us this season.

"I think it was value, they have got a good player, Plymouth.

"We didn't want to lose him and we had to replace him so I insisted on a fee I thought was fair, although he was coming out of contract.

"I think we can feel pleased about getting that sort of money because it's easy to lose out in that situation."

Paterson, 28, embarked on a personal fitness programme last summer which, when augmented by McGhee's training regime, helped him have his best spell at Motherwell.

McGhee said: "Hard work is a great investment and it's a great example to players that are prepared to really work hard, even at that later stages of their career they can still cash in as it were.

"That's what Jim has done, he has gone down south, he will have a nice deal for himself at Plymouth, he will get the experience of playing in the English league. We wish him luck, he has done well for us."

Motherwell have acted to ensure they have everyone available for the fifth-round clash against Dundee, which has been rescheduled for Tuesday.

They have pulled Scotland Under-21 trio McCormack, Marc Fitzpatrick and Mark Reynolds from Billy Stark's squad for a four-team tournament in Portugal.

And McGhee expects Northern Ireland to release Craigan from the squad for their friendly against Bulgaria on Wednesday.

More Football News from TEAMtalk