Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell: International break wasn't a holiday for us

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell says the international break wasn’t a holiday at the club and hopes their hard work is rewarded with a win at Hibs today.

Some squad players were away with their countries, like goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who was part of the Scotland squad that recorded a sensational 2-0 win over Spain on Tuesday and a terrific 3-0 triumph over Cyprus.

But those who were left behind were working hard, and were involved in a closed-doors friendly against Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic.

Kettlewell said: “We utilised it as a working week last week. We stressed that it wasn’t really a time for a holiday and it wasn’t a time to take a back seat.

“We managed to get a really good, competitive, game against St Pat’s they came over from Ireland, and it was a really good experience.

“It wasn’t just a walk-through friendly like you see sometimes in pre-season.

“I would have liked one or two more first-team players to have been involved in that, but they weren’t quite right to take part in the game.

“We started with two or three 16 year olds and a 17 year old, which is terrific for us, and great experience for these guys.

“We felt we hit all the markers that we wanted to in that working week.”

Kettlewell hopes the unexpected win over top tier side Spain gives the whole of Scottish football a boost.

He said: “We had five or six guys away on international duty, and we have everybody back in the building today [Thursday]. I think the last one to come back in was Liam Kelly, and that completes the loop for us.

“Liam would want to have played, but to be part of the squad and in the mix for what was a really good few days for Scotland must bring real confidence to him.

“You always hope these wee bits drip-feed into your