Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell denies that players have the last two games of the Premiership season to impress him and earn contracts – because he’s given them that opportunity all season.
Kettlewell says he’s as far down the road as he can be, in terms of keeping players on, moving others out, and bringing in new faces, ahead of a pre-season trip to the Netherlands.
And he says games against Hibs tonight (Wednesday) and St Johnstone on Sunday won’t give people any more of a chance to impress him than they’ve had since the start of the season.
“I think I do that every week,” he said. “This idea of ‘we’re good now, were safe, we’ve got nothing to worry about’ – you’ve got a chance every day when you come in to this club to try and impress myself and the staff, and to perform and train well.
“I pick my team accordingly, based on that. I think there can sometimes be a misconception in football that you pick a team because you think somebody’s a good player, and it doesn’t matter what he does during the week.
“It matters massively to me, it matters in my methods of management and how I go about my job, so that doesn’t change.
“Whether it’s young or older within our group, you’ve always got a chance. You’re talking about me giving people opportunities, I think I do that on a daily basis.
“We’ve done it with some young players from our own academy, by helping and developing some players that have come in on loan, and that mind-set doesn’t change.
“It doesn’t become a carnival or a testimonial, where I start chopping and changing for people that I don’t feel are at the level of somebody else at this minute in time to start the game – that’s not how it works.
“That’s not how it’s ever going to work. I need to have the belief
Football
Sporting
wellness
STARS
performer
rights
Parke
Stuart Kettlewell