Carl McHugh has decided to stand down as captain of Motherwell.

The 25-year-old Irishman came to his decision with a view to improving his form.

Peter Hartley will be the new Well skipper for the season ahead.

McHugh told Motherwell's official website: "It's definitely not a decision I've taken lightly.

"It's been a tough decision to come to but I think it's the right one going forward.

"But I just feel at times I wasn't happy with the level of consistency I showed over the season.

"The captaincy was affecting me in different ways. But most importantly on the pitch, I felt my level of performance [had dropped].

"I'm quite hard on myself, to be honest, and when I analysed my season after the last few games I felt this was something that could help me moving forward, and help the team.

"I could have just carried on and stayed in the role for another season. That would have been the easy thing to do. But I think the right thing to do is what I am doing now.

"It is the right thing for me personally, which in turn will help the team and the club move forward. I believe this will help me overall, it'll help my performances and it will help the team.

"We're a close knit squad and Pete has always been supportive of me as captain and I'll do the same for him. I know that Pete will go on to be a terrific captain of this football club."