Kettlewell Calls for Continued Fan Support During Team’s Difficult Period

Stuart Kettlewell, who observed his team’s 4-1 loss at Dundee in midweek, has described the fan dissatisfaction with Motherwell’s recent poor form as a “learning curve” for his squad. He also conceded that scrutiny of his own performance is “part of the game.” The Steelmen, set to play St Mirren on Saturday, are currently experiencing a sequence of three consecutive defeats and have lost six of their last eight fixtures across all competitions. Manager Kettlewell has urged supporters to remain loyal to the team, stating that fan encouragement can enhance confidence among the players. He said: “It’s blue-sky thinking that everybody supports us through thick or thin and good results, bad results and everybody’s always happy but we all know that’s not the reality of football, I’ll always take accountability for the bad results.” Kettlewell added: “But the way I look at it is, the more support and the more backing you get, the more confidence the players get without question. Take me out of the equation, take the staff out of the equation, but the more confidence the players get.” He continued: “That’s all made easier with support, but how do I sit here for a second and tell somebody how they should react when they’ve travelled up to Dundee and they’ve watched their team lose or they’ve travelled to Dingwall?” Kettlewell further remarked: “People are entitled to their opinions and football supporters are always going to have their opinions.” Addressing the intensity of current criticism, he stated: “That seems incredibly strong just now, that starts to become a bit abusive and it starts to become a bit personal in football in general… that’s a part of the game. If you can’t handle that, if you can’t take it, I’ll always say that I feel you’re in the wrong industry.” He expressed his conviction: “There’s always an understanding that if there’s a backing, if there’s a real support, in particular the players, especially some of the young guys that we’ve got in the squad, then I always believe that you’ll get more out of them, I believe they will show a really good reaction.” Concluding, Kettlewell noted: “But listen, sometimes that’s part of the learning curve to walk off at Dens and walk by unhappy supporters for young players and they have to learn through that experience as well.”