Motherwell boss Stevie Hammell has given us a fresh start, says midfield ace

Callum Slattery says Motherwell boss Stevie Hammell has given the squad a fresh start and restored their confidence.

And the English midfielder hopes that results in a third straight Premiership win when the Steelmen visit Kilmarnock this afternoon.

Former Southampton star Slattery knows a difficult game lies in store at Rugby Park against Derek McInnes’ Championship-winning side.

But he says Motherwell have restored their confidence and players like him have been given a freedom to express themselves in an attacking line-up.

He said: “I think the group coming together has been key. We went through a tough spell at the start of the season, coming out of Europe.

“I think we needed to regroup, get together as a team and take on the games that we’ve played.

“The first thing he [Hammell] did was add that belief for us. Going into games now, we’re going there to win and put in a good performance, as well as getting three points.

“I would say we’re back to where we were before the start of the season, confidence-wise and form-wise.

“Taking a knock early on can take a team quite a long time to get round, but with the change that happened I think it was a fresh start, it added that bit of belief into the team.”

Kilmarnock go into today’s game looking for their first Premiership win this season, and Slattery is keen to avoid that scenario.

But he says with a new, more attacking mind-set, Motherwell would be confident of returning with all three points.

He said: “The aim is to stop them from getting their first win of the season. It’s going to be a tough game, they’re a good side to come up against.

“We’re going into it with the same mind-set as we would in any game. It’s a game away from home, we want to play well, take the three