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Stuart Kettlewell is the Glen’s Vodka Premiership manager of the month for February. 

The Motherwell boss was interim manager for matches against St Mirren and Hearts before becoming permanent manager for the match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Victories against top six sides St Mirren and Hearts before a hard fought point against Kilmarnock meant it was seven points gained out of a possible nine for Kettlewell.

Stuart Kettlewell has made best start of any Motherwell manager since Roger Hynd in 1977.

“This is a reward for the amount of effort the staff at this club have put in this last month,” manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

“We have faced some really difficult circumstances and it has taken everyone, from footballing staff to the ground staff, to work extremely hard to help the club get through it.

“Obviously, a lot of thanks goes to the players who have shown excellent attitude to everything we have asked of them.

“It has been a good start but our job is far from done and now I want us to continue moving forward for a strong end to the season.”

The big games kept coming for Motherwell as they travelled to the Highlands to take on Ross County. 

In what had been described as a six-pointer for both teams, the opening exchanges of the game were cagey with both sides having half chances within the game.

Coming out for the second half, it would be a slow start for the Steelmen and they looked to have conceded a penalty at the start of the second period.

Referee Don Roberston pointed to the spot after he had adjudged Calum Butcher to have fouled the County defender Iacovitti however after a watch at the VAR screen, the decision would be overturned.

VAR would intervene again just after the hour mark. Kevin van Veen’s excellent touch looked to be taking him through on goal before Jack Baldwin fouled the Dutchman and the referee showed him a yellow card. Robertson would again go to the monitor and eventually awarded the County man with a red card.

Motherwell made the extra man count. Van Veen grabbed his 16th and 17th goal of the campaign to give his side a huge three points as Stuart Kettlewell made it 10 points out of a possible 12 in charge of Motherwell.

Motherwell made it 10 points out of a possible 12 under Stuart Kettlewell’s, with a 2-0 win in the Highlands against Ross County. 

The win lifted the Steelmen 10 points away from Dundee United at the foot of the table.

A second half brace from Kevin van Veen secured three points for his side, with the hosts being reduced to ten men with Jack Baldwin given his marching orders following the intervention of VAR.

Yan Dhanda was proving to be a handful in the early stages as Liam Kelly was called into action early on. George Harmon seen his volley stopped by Kelly after just two minutes.

It was then Motherwell’s chance to open the scoring. Some excellent work from Blair Spittal on the left hand side who found Obika with a pinpoint cross and the striker headed just wide.

The rest of the half was largely an even affair, with Motherwell’s best chance of the half coming on the stroke of half time. Van Veen turned his man on the edge of the box before lashing a shot at Laidlaw who saved and the rebound came to Johnston who fizzed a low cross into the area that just missed Callum Slattery who was sliding in.

The second half started with a bang. Ross County were awarded a penalty by Don Robertson. Initially given for a pull on Alex Iacovitti, the referee went to the monitor and changed his decision. No penalty awarded.

VAR would get involved again on 69 minutes. Van Veen controlled the ball out of the air with a lovely touch to take him through on goal before Jack Baldwin tripped the Dutchman. Robertson awarded the defender a yellow card at first but was again advised to go to the monitor. Upon his return, he showed the skipper a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Motherwell went on to make the extra man count. Some lovely work from Dean Cornelius to find Blair Spittal who hung a ball into the box for Van Veen who headed in the opener. 0-1.

The Steelmen made sure of the points with minutes remaining. Max Johnston’s initial effort on goal found Van Veen who controlled and volleyed home from close range to make the points safe.

Motherwell have two pre-split games remaining, with the first coming on Sunday against Dundee United at K-Park. 

Kick-off is 4pm.

How to follow the game

Tickets for the match cost £8 for adults, with concessions and kids costing £3.

Cash and card are accepted at the turnstiles. There is no facility to buy tickets online before the match.

STORY OF THE MATCH

Story of the match

Motherwell were beaten 3-0 by Glasgow City midweek.

The two sides met in the first game of the season, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. They also faced off in the Scottish Cup, with Motherwell gaining the upper hand with a 2-1 victory to progress to the next round.

Dundee United’s last win came against Aberdeen at the start of February. They were beaten 2-0 by Hearts midweek with United seven points behind the women of steel in the SWPL table.

Stephen Frail is the new assistant manager of Motherwell Football Club. 

The 53-year-old joins as Stuart Kettlewell’s number two in the dugout and will begin his role immediately.

Frail had spells with Dundee, St Johnstone, Tranmere, Hearts and Morton before retiring in 2002.

Well versed as a coach, Frail has had experience at international level with Northern Ireland and at club level.

In 2005, he was number two at Hearts for over two years before stepping up as manager of the club for the rest of the 2007/08 season.

He was Micky Mellon’s assistant at Dundee United and was most recently at East Fife working alongside Darren Young.

“I am delighted to be here and given this opportunity,” Frail said.

“Stuart phoned me last week with regards to coming in and we discussed at length the short-term and long-term visions he has at the club.

“It was an easy decision to make. This is a good club and I’m well aware of the history of it.

“From my perspective, I’m looking forward to getting back on the training pitch again.”

“When I took the job, I knew I wanted an experienced head in the dugout with me,” manager Stuart Kettlewell added.

“Stephen is highly regarded and respected in the game and is someone who has coached at various different levels, at club and international level.

“He is an excellent coach who builds good relationships with players and has been in work recently.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with Stephen and hopefully forging a successful time at Motherwell.”

It’s a trip back to familiar territory for Motherwell managerStuart Kettlewell as they take on Ross County in the cinch Premiership.

With seven points collected out of nine so far, the Motherwell manager has bee drilling in the mindset of ‘the next game’ in the hope that his player focus purely on each game as it comes and give it their all.

We make the long trip north to take on Ross County in Dingwall on Saturday 4 March.

Kick-off is 3pm

Tickets

Tickets are available online by clicking here

Ticket Prices

• Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and T&C’s apply.

How to follow game online

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

The Story of the Match

Saturday’s game is a “six pointer” at the bottom of the league. Ninth placed Motherwell sit three points above County and both sides will be looking for a crucial three points as they eye a way out of the relegation dogfight.

Motherwell have shown signs of life following the Scottish Cup exit to Raith Rovers. They have taken seven points from nine in what has been a good start for Stuart Kettlewell.

Kettlewell faces his former side, whose home form has picked up in recent weeks. They beat Dundee United 4-0 last weekend and a draw with Hibs and 3-0 win over Kilmarnock sees them unbeaten in three at home.

The Steelmen have won their last two visits to Dingwall, most recently a blistering second half performance where Van Veen’s hat-trick contributed to a 5-0 win with further goals from Slattery and Efford.

Match Officials

• Referee: Don Robertson
• AR1: Alan Mulvanny
• AR2: Chris Rae
• Fourth Official: Chris Fordyce
• VAR: Kevin Clancy
• AVAR: Frank Connor

Calum Butcher is your Paycare February player of the month. 

Signed at the start of February, Butcher has won both votes, comfortably, on Twitter and Facebook.

He has been playing at the heart of a back five under new manager Stuart Kettlewell, alongside Paul McGinn and Dan Casey.

Winning Sky Sports man of the match against Hearts and making the SPFL Team of the Week following wins against St Mirren and Hearts, Butcher has quickly established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet and a leader on the pitch.

It was the start of a new era at Motherwell, with Stuart Kettlewell taking the reigns for the first time as permanent manager of the club. 

Travelling south to take on a Kilmarnock side who had picked up 93% of their points total this season at Rugby Park, Motherwell would need to be at their best to get something out of the game.

Kettlewell described the match as ‘a game of two halves’.

The first period, Kilmarnock would be on top and took the lead on 17 minutes through Scott Robinson.

A stern half time team talk done the trick and the Steelmen came out flying for the second half.

Jon Obika, Kevin van Veen, Paul McGinn and Stephen O’Donnell were all denied by man of the match Sam Walker in the Killie goal.

With the clock in stoppage time, Motherwell were awarded a free kick 25-yards out where it was simply now or never.

Up stepped Slattery who fired the ball into the top corner to send a 900 away support into rapture.