Motherwell Readies for ‘Electric’ Rangers Encounter

Motherwell suffered a 2-1 defeat against Rangers at Hampden in a league fixture held in August. Stuart Kettlewell stated that Motherwell is “punching above their weight” this season, yet he maintains they are significant underdogs to advance to the League Cup final, notwithstanding Rangers’ current difficulties. The Steelmen currently hold fourth place in the Premiership, trailing Rangers, their semi-final adversaries on Sunday, by just three points. Manager Kettlewell further commented, “I believe we’re doing well.” He continued, “We’re being resilient, [I’ve got] real trust in our players, real trust in what we’re trying to do.” Kettlewell reiterated, “I believe we’re punching above our weight for where we’re sitting.” He added, “I don’t really look at the league position, what I look at is, we’ve got 16 points at this minute in time, which I think is a very, very good start to the season.” He also recalled, “And I did say way back at the start of the season in the group stages this competition, our angle was always to try and get as far as we possibly could because we know how much excitement it can generate for a club like Motherwell, so we feel we’re in a good position.” Rangers will proceed to Hampden, with manager Philippe Clement facing considerable pressure following their midweek loss against Aberdeen, which resulted in his team being nine points adrift of both the Dons and Celtic. Kettlewell stated, “I still see them as a top, top football club.” He reflected, “I think back to earlier in the season at Hampden when we played them in the league, and there was a spell for 30 to 35 minutes where they were electric.” He continued, “I know that’s what they are absolutely capable of, so we prepare for that, we make sure that’s a thing that’s in our head.” Kettlewell also remarked, “For Motherwell to progress in this competition I believe would be a huge upset as I think Rangers would be massive favourites by the size of the club and the investment.” He concluded, “But we don’t tell ourselves that, we don’t think along those terms. We want to try and show our best version on Sunday and see where that takes us.”