By SCOTT MULLEN

MOTHERWELL must up their game in the transfer market if they are to prosper financially.

That was the message from Les Hutchison, the businessman who is playing a central role in the Well Society's takeover bid at Fir Park.

The Lanarkshire-born multi-millionaire has ploughed some of his own cash to make sure Well's future is sustainable and in the hands of the supporters.

However, he has made it clear that improvements must be made within the club if revenue streams are to be maximised.

In May Motherwell revealed a financial loss of £600,000 for 2011/12 and £184,000 in 2012,13. It was expected a five-figure deficit would be recorded for last season.

Transfer fees have dried up recently, with Henri Anier moving on for an undisclosed fee in the summer the only recent transaction of note.

Hutchison believes it is a policy which needs revisited.

He said: "I should emphasise one other revenue stream which I think is extremely important given the limited resources there are, which is to be much more effective in the transfer market.

"I think that is also going to play a key role in the financial success of the club and the objective of trying to have financial sustainability.

"We are going to have to look at every revenue stream.

"I think player transfers, taking young players and selling them on, is going to play an increasing role in creating a business model which is first and foremost sustainable.

"If we can do that and stay in the Premiership then that is what we will do."

Now the wheels have been put in motion, Hutchison is hoping more fans of the Lanarkshire club will buy into the Society.

The supporter group has five years to repay the Barbados-based businessman's investment before the reins and a 70 per cent share holding of the club are handed over.

Up until this point the progress of the scheme, which began around three years ago, has been slow. But Hutchison is hopeful recent developments will encourage more supporters and businesses throughout the local community to get involved.

He said: "Obviously we have to work hard to see what kind of level of engagement we can get from fans, what level of engagement we can get from sponsors and so on.

"And once we do that, we will have some ideas to the scale of the budget available to operate the company.

"But the one thing that will be is that the club will be run as efficiently as they can be. So we will be watching costs and maximising as much money as possible to put a team on the park."

While the news last Friday that Hutchison, the Society and the club had reached an agreement over a proposed plan for a takeover, it is clear the businessman believes the parties can't afford to sit back and take their eye off the ball.

"In the short term, what we are trying to do is develop the plan and to look at what resources are required to execute the plan, and to then get after it," said Hutchison.

"We need to get everybody involved and everybody engaged. Clearly, there is no silver bullet here. There is no magic formula.

"In my 40 years of working experience, I have never found a substitute for hard work. So it's going to take a lot of hard work by a lot of people to see what we can achieve."