St Johnstone 1 Motherwell 1: Kettlewell takes aim at ref Colin Steven over display

Stuart Kettlewell vented his frustration at the performance of referee Colin Steven in Motherwell’s 1-1 draw with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The Steelmen conceded early on when Ryan McGowan’s goal was allowed to stand, despite Andy Considine appearing to be in an offside position.

Well boss Kettlewell admitted he had yet to watch the Saints goal back but said Steven needed to “manage the game better than it was in stages today".

“What’s concerning me is what is happening during the 90 minutes of play,” Kettlewell said.

“I just feel like we’re continuously getting players booked in scenarios where you see it happening with the opposition but it doesn’t seem to be penalised in the exact same fashion.

“There’s a spell in that first half and everyone can hear the discontent towards the officials – there’s a reason for that.

“I’ve had the same conversation about the same referee earlier in the season in a game against Aberdeen.

“Decisions have to be better. It’s not a personal attack, you have to be able to manage the game better than it was in stages today.

“I’ll reference an incident in the game that I have seen back where Harry Paton is elbowed in the face and the referee plays on.

“We keep talking about trying to make the game better. If we don’t start to protect players with these head injuries then I’m lost for words with where we go next.

“I’m not saying players are going in with the intent, but we seem to just bypass this and start to focus on VAR, offside decisions and all the rest of it. We need to get that bit right before we do anything else.”

Kettlewell was disappointed that his team were unable to find a spark in front of goal to claim a priceless victory over their relegation rivals.

Theo Bair nodded Well