Stuart Kettlewell wanted earlier call on Motherwell’s postponed game at Aberdeen

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell would have been happier if Wednesday’s game with Aberdeen was postponed earlier in the day but feels discussions over how Scottish football deals with extreme weather could end up with the same result.

Motherwell had a wasted trip to Aberdeen in the morning before the roads worsened as rain and wind hit major routes north amid Storm Gerrit to leave many fans unable to reach Pittodrie.

There was flooding in Perthshire and Kinross and Motherwell fans and staff were blocked by closures of the A90 and A92 between Dundee and Aberdeen as well as cancellations of train services.

Traffic Scotland announced the A90 was closed at 2.25pm but the official announcement of the postponement did not follow for about 90 minutes.

A yellow weather warning had been in place for the north of Scotland on Wednesday but the two cinch Premiership games were not called off until people were well into their journeys – Ross County had to abandon their trip to Ibrox amid heavy snow on the A9.

Kettlewell said: “The roads were horrendous in stages and our driver did amazingly well to get us there. The contact between both clubs was crystal clear, there were no issues with the pitch or the stadium.

“The decision came after a conversation between the clubs and the police, a lot of our staff and supporters, Aberdeen have a lot of fans from the Central Belt and people were finding it nigh on impossible to get through the roads. At that point common sense prevailed.

“The only thing that comes off the back of it is there were plenty of warnings about that type of storm. I think it was a bit longer than it was envisaged.

“I don’t know if that’s one where we make the call a bit earlier so we are not sitting up in a hotel in Aberdeen. There was a lot of time spent on a bus and it has a knock-on effect into Saturday’s game, but as always we adjust.

“It would have been great if that game was called early in the morning and I could have got a training session in and not travel four-and-a-bit hours to get to Aberdeen and three-and-a-bit hours to get back again.

“We all have our opinions on it, I could sit and detail my thoughts, but it’s not going to change anything.

“There have been quite a few games cancelled with storms blowing in. Whether people at the top end of the game decide that’s something they need to look at or whether the winter break comes at a different time, all these things are on the table.

“But we might end up with the same result.”