Motherwell looking to 'turn the tide' under caretaker manager Stuart Kettlewell

Motherwell caretaker manager Stuart Kettlewell says they are facing a “big challenge” to turn their recent run of poor form around but believes he can get a reaction out of the squad against St Mirren.

The former Ross County boss has come in for Steven Hammell who was sacked after Saturday’s Scottish Cup exit despite less than a season in charge at Fir Park.

And he will take the reigns for Wednesday night’s crunch Premiership game against Stephen Robinson’s men with the Lanarkshire club sitting at second bottom on level points with 12th placed Dundee United.

Kettlewell, who was initially recruited by Hammell, said: “It’s a big challenge for everyone at the football club.

“I am hurting about the manager losing his job, because he was someone who put a lot of faith in me when I was out the game.

“But what we all owe this football club is we have to pick ourselves up, and I know that Steven would want that, he would want us to try and move in the right direction, even if that’s just for a couple of days until we can get some stability and move the football club in the right direction.”

Motherwell are without a win in the league since October and have lost their last four games in a row while conceding nine goals in the process including back-to-back 3-1 defeats to Raith Rovers and Aberdeen.

Kettlewell admits the players are hurting but insists if he never had believed he could get them back on the right track then he wouldn’t have taken the role.

He said: “If I didn’t think I could get some sort of reaction then I would have said no to the job.

“I see a group of players who are hurting, I have been in that position myself as a player, as a coach and as a manager, so you get a sense of what it takes to get one result and that is what I am looking at.

“In my own mind, and I have said this to the players, it is three days and that’s all it is.

“We had a session yesterday, I got everyone together and we had a pretty open and honest session and my message was put across clear: we get back on the pitch today and prepare for what is going to be a difficult game against St Mirren.

“We know how good they are and how well they function and they are full of confidence, but we have to try and turn the tide a little bit.”

St Mirren, who currently sit in sixth in the table, travel to Fir Park when the sides meet on Wednesday night.