MOTHERWELL boss Mark McGhee has ended his interest in Gambian centre half Seyfo Soley - because he felt he was far too laid back.

However, he is keeping his fingers crossed Celtic will agree to his offer for winger Jim O'Brien and he could still sign Souley-mane Mamam of Togo.

McGhee had looked at Soley in training for a fortnight and gave him a run-out in the emphatic 4-0 win over Bradford.

The 27-year-old internationalist came highly recommended after playing for a season in the Coca Cola Championship with Preston North End.

But McGhee was unimpressed and has told the player he is free to find another club.

He explained: "The centre half we had on trial was just a bit too laid back. He didn't seem interested in getting up to our pace in training.

"We are still interested in the midfielder and hope to hear Celtic's response to our offer for O'Brien soon."

The departure of Soley is disappointing for McGhee who had hoped to bring in another central defender as cover for first-choice pairing Stephen Craigan and Mark Reynolds. His bid to land John Kennedy from the Hoops on loan last month fell through when Motherwell failed to reach a financial agreement for the player.

McGhee said: "I am happy to be going into the Hearts game at Tynecastle on Saturday with the players I have.

"However, as far as the season is concerned, I am hoping to get more bodies in. We have got he Uefa Cup to worry about. If we qualify for the group stages we will need more bodies.

"I am going to be speaking to Gordon Strachan soon and hopefully we can work out what is going to be happening with Jim. We would like to get him in permanently."