Motherwell have appointed Alfred Johansson as their new manager, with the Swede taking over from Jens Berthel Askou, who led the club to fourth place in the Scottish Premiership before departing for Toulouse. Johansson spent two-and-a-half-years in charge of Rosenborg in Norway before he was sacked in May. The 35-year-old will look to build on the success of last season, where Motherwell picked up 61 points, winning 16 of their 38 games. Chairman Kyrk Macmillan said the club followed the same data-driven process that unearthed Askou and previous boss Michael Wimmer. Johansson has a degree in sports science and completed a postgraduate course in high-performance football coaching in Lisbon. He used a 4-3-3 system in Norway and helped develop young players like Sverre Nypan and Marius Broholm, later sold to Manchester City and Lille respectively. Motherwell will face Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands in the Conference League second qualifying round first leg on 23 July and open their Premiership campaign away to Hibernian on 2 August. Former Raith Rovers player Kevin Nicol, now first team coach at Norwegian top-flight side Fredrikstad, believes Johansson is an exciting recruit, but questions how he will handle the dressing room in a Scottish environment. Johansson has got to show enough strength and get the players behind him, according to Nicol. The new manager has already analysed the club closely and is excited about the direction it's going in. He wants to carry the success of last season forward and is looking forward to working with the squad of players. Motherwell's fans will be hoping Johansson can replicate the success of Askou, who left big shoes to fill after leading the club to their fewest number of top-flight games lost since 1959 and setting a new clean-sheet record for the club.