Jens Berthel Askou insists Motherwell have no plans to sell Tawanda Maswanhise

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou insisted the club have no plans to sell top scorer Tawanda Maswanhise during the January transfer window after the forward fired the Steelmen into the fifth round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory over Ross County at Fir Park.

Maswanhise was the stand-out player throughout and he turned home Lukas Fadinger’s pass shortly after the hour mark to give Well the lead.

The hosts passed up a number of opportunities to kill the game off and County came close to forcing extra time but goalkeeper Matty Connelly made a superb late save to keep out Kieran Phillips’ shot to ensure Motherwell’s progression.

Maswanhise’s goal was his 15th strike of the season, while the Zimbabwe international also scored an eye-catching goal at the Africa Cup of Nations last month.

Only Lawrence Shankland has scored more goals in the top flight this season, while Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was seen in attendance at Fir Park on Saturday, although Berthel Askou revealed the club are yet to receive any bids for the in-form attacker.

He said: “I am calm. There has been interest in our players already in the summer window, because they could see them early in the season doing really well, and that interest has been growing and will hopefully grow and grow until we find the right moment with the player and us to move them on.

“That moment is not now, we’re halfway through the season, a fantastic season so far.

“We can’t keep him forever, and we shouldn’t keep him forever.

“But there’s no plan of any one of our players moving on now, and there has been no-one coming with a big wish on that.

“On the contrary, everyone is really committed and excited about what we’re doing, and that’s the track we’re taking.

“Obviously having sold Lennon (Miller) in the summer gives us a good foundation so we are not in any stress in this club.

“On rushing things, it might seem good right now, but in the long-term it’s sometimes better to be a little bit cool. So we have no plans of making a big rebuild now.

“There’s no doubt that there’s potential in Tawanda but that potential, we need to let that grow with Motherwell Football Club, because there’s also potential in this club.

“And for now, that will grow together. And then I am sure that in the coming years, we will see many of these players move on and do really well in the next stage and some of them maybe even on the biggest stage.

“I know the new generation, they spend a lot of time on social media, and he’s probably also got some friends who think he needs to move on.

“And I know there’s many Zimbabwe fans who follow our club, because he’s a very popular fellow.

“So there’s a lot of attention but as I said before, it’s about using that attention as positive energy, because it’s going well.”

Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell, meanwhile, was able to take positives from his side’s narrow defeat at the hands of his old club.

He said: “The two opportunities come late in the game but sometimes that’s not a bad thing, that you’re creating opportunities at that stage. It was a brilliant save from Matty Connelly for the one from Kieran Phillips.

“But I’m not sitting here professing that we absolutely dominated the game of football. That’s not what I’m saying.

“What I’m happy about is that the players played from within a plan and a structure, which we were asking them to do.

“We definitely need to walk before we can run, it’s as simple as that.

“There’s positives for us to take. But quite clearly, we’ve got a good way to go to try and maximise what I believe is in the dressing room.”