Stuart Kettlewell eager to give Motherwell fans ‘something to cheer about’

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell aims to reward fans for their push to grow the support by giving them a trip to Hampden.

The Well Society, the club’s fan-ownership vehicle, has distributed thousands of leaflets and posters across Motherwell and neighbouring areas with the help of volunteers to try to attract people to Friday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Dundee United at Fir Park.

“We’ve got a team of volunteers out just now going door to door handing out leaflets to drum up support and see if we get as many people in here as we possibly can,” Kettlewell said.

“We are a fan-owned community football club. I for one would love to celebrate that, and what you start to see from initiatives like this one is that the supporters are proud as punch of their team and their town.

“That’s just another little indication that they want to celebrate that and they want to make this place as noisy and as colourful as they possibly can do.

“My job is to make sure that the players give the supporters and everyone that comes here to back us on Friday something to cheer about.”

The former Ross County midfielder is also determined to press home how big a chance the players have to create memories and achievements.

Motherwell have not been to the last four of a competition since finishing runners-up in both major cups in the 2017-18 season and Kettlewell wants his players to make the most of the chance.

The 40-year-old, who was part of the County squad that reached the 2010 Scottish Cup final, said: “I think sometimes we just look at the monetary aspect of football. People want security, win bonuses and all these different things.

“But I was probably brought up in a simpler time and a simpler mindset that careers are defined by success, and that’s how I look at it. I think all the good things in football, ie money, contracts and all that type of stuff, happen off the back of success.

“I’ve always been someone massive into the fact that I certainly wasn’t the greatest player in the world, but I’m proud as punch of the medals that I was able to win and promotions and various different things that I’ve been able to achieve and those are the things that I’m genuinely most proud of.

“Getting players into that mindset tends to breed success because you have a real hunger for it. Whether you’re able to achieve it, whether there’s disappointment in there, can always be a fact of life, not just football.

“There’s no substitute for those memories, those bits of success and what that starts to build in your CV. You know, how do you write on a CV about contracts, money, cars and all these different types of things?

“Silverware was always and still is to my mind, the most important thing, and what every single football player, coach, manager should be striving for, and the game on Friday, we give ourselves a chance to take another step in that journey.”