Motherwell will only get better under Steven Hammell, says Kevin van Veen as he hails risk-taking gaffer

Kevin van Veen insists Motherwell will only get better as the season goes on now they have Steven Hammell in permanent charge of the Steelmen.

The Dutchman was the hero on Saturday when he netted the winner in a 3-2 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie - scoring for the fifth time in five games against the Dons.

But he believes the credit should lie at the door of the new gaffer and his assistant Brian Kerr, with a more adventurous style of play in comparison to former boss Graham Alexander paying off.

And van Veen is confident the new approach will continue to pay dividends for the Steelmen.

He said: "We are now on the ball instead of setting up more defensive and winning second balls.

“We now want to make the play. You will get caught up at times and there are risks but I like playing like that.

“We showed good penetration and that is what the gaffer wants.

“He wants us to play out and get as many touches. He wants quick football and it is working.

“The more time the manager gets, the better we will be.

“There is a fresh wind and all the boys are very positive about the manager.

“We need to help him with performances like this.

“The performance against St Johnstone [a 2-1 defeat], myself included, didn’t help him at all.

"We underperformed and the late goal against us should never have happened.

“The manager was very proud of the way we played away from home, as he said in the dressing room.

“There is a lot of positivity. The gaffer is very good with player-management and saying what he wants.

"You saw how we caught Aberdeen out so many times and we could have made it a lot easier for ourselves.

“Credit to the manager and the assistant for setting us up for the three points.”

The former Scunthrope striker's goal in the