Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell ignores criticism from ‘experts’

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell will ignore his critics as he defended his record in the wake of his side’s exit from the Scottish Cup.

The Steelmen failed to test the St Johnstone goalkeeper in a 1-0 defeat in Perth, where they return to Premiership duty on Saturday.

Fifth-placed Motherwell are 16 points above bottom side Saints and Kettlewell came under heavy criticism from some fans.

In nearly two years in charge, Kettlewell has comfortably guided Motherwell to top flight safety twice, overseeing transfers that have brought in around £2m, taking the club to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup and blooding young players such as Lennon Miller and Ewan Wilson.

But criticism of his playing style has intensified recently.

“There are a lot of experts out there and a lot of people who know better than the people who have actually walked in the shoes and experienced the trials and tribulations,” Kettlewell said.

“You get things right, you get things wrong. Look around Scotland at this time of year – weather conditions, pitches – it often changes dramatically from what it looks like on the first day of the season when the pitches are perfect and The sun is shining. It is of great importance for football.

“I refer you back to last season. We got so much praise at times for how we played, the style of football, keeping possession, creating chances. We went 15 games and never won a game of football.

“You try to find that balance between trying to entertain and winning football games, which is always the most important thing.

“We are nine points better off than at this stage last season and are trying to entertain.

“And what people keep forgetting is a massive task at this football club is trying to develop your own players, bringing players through from your academy, from loan deals, young players. Sometimes there are inconsistencies with that .

“I’m the first to put my hands up to that. But what I’m not prepared to do is get ridiculously emotional because someone says they don’t like the style of football or they’re not happy with a certain game.

“If I was in that mindset, we’d be tearing things up every single week.

“The plan that we laid out two years ago has actually been quite fruitful for us in terms of player sales, points gained, overall records.

“This is where every leader must stand strong. You need to shut out a lot of that noise. There are a lot of people that I respect in the game that have that experience, a lot of people that I would listen to their opinion.

“I’m not disrespecting or disrespecting anyone. But it’s safe to say that I won’t be swayed by any noise or opinions from people who never did the job and never dedicated their lives to this game. I think that’s the case for everyone leaders.”

Kettlewell is working amid a selection crisis which could leave him without 10 players on Saturday.

The absence of Jack Vale, Callum Slattery, Ross Callachan, Sam Nicholson and Harry Paton for most of the season and a recent injury to Miller has left Motherwell’s midfield lacking much of its creativity.

Miller and Slattery haven’t been on the same team for 15 months.

“Some of the guys you mentioned aren’t bad on the ball,” Kettlewell said.

“They can handle the ball pretty well. I’ve always said I’m not going to make an excuse, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.”

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