Motherwell boss says releasing striker has been huge financially for the Fir Park club

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell insists striker Joe Efford was never a problem, but jettisoning a top earner has helped to balance the books.

The 27-year-old was released on Monday, and while Kettlewell says it has made a big difference financially, there is no scope to bring in more players, even though it leaves his squad light.

But Kettlewell says sometimes things just don’t work out with players.

He said: “There were a couple of factors in the Joe Efford situation.

“Joe had a bad injury to his quad before I had come in, he was fighting his way back to fitness, there was a lot of stop-start in that with a lot of other knocks and niggles, and trying to work him through a pre-season.

“Joe has never been a problem to me, I need to go on record in saying that, but I think sometimes in football you need a fresh challenge and a fresh start.

“That’s how I see it. My voice isn’t going to resonate with absolutely everybody – my message, my methods, isn’t going to measure up with everybody.

“I think what I have done, and what the football club has done, is be really fair with Joe.

“As I say, he has been a model professional in how he goes about his business here, but sometimes you almost have to hold your hands up and say there needs to be a fresh start, there needs to be a change, whether that’s country, method of what’s happening at a football club.”

Kettlewell added: “Joe was one of the top earners at the club and I’m immensely proud of the work that has been done over the summer in conjunction with the board, chief executive, head of recruitment and myself, other members of staff at the club, that we’ve managed to trim things down.

“Managers always want the biggest budget that they can get, loads of options, and we know