Motherwell caretaker on what he won't do vs Celtic after bombshell news as possible transfer moves assessed

Stephen Frail says the next Motherwell manager is inheriting a group of players brimming with talent - and the playbook won’t be ripped up this weekend vs Celtic.

It’s been a dramatic week at Fir Park with news of boss Stuart Kettlewell’s resignation. They take on Celtic in the Premiership this weekend under the temporary charge of Frail, assisted by coaches Jon Obika and Richard Foster. Style of play is something that Kettlewell was criticised for in the latter stages of his tenure at Motherwell.

Frail says that he won’t go making radical changes to the team for the visit of the champions, as he insists the next Motherwell manager is coming into a good group. He explained: “My role at this football club was to assist Stuart and my ideas and thoughts on the game, very much aligned with his.

“There's not going to be a ripping up of the way we play, the way we play with the ball, the way we play without the ball. There'll be one or two little tweaks in terms of personnel. But as I say, I know maybe fans are wanting it ripped up to go out and play this different style of football.

“As I say, we don't go out to play a non-possession-based game. Sometimes that's the way games work out. But that time for a change and a reset will come when a new manager walks in. The players have worked to this set-up and this standard since Stuart walked in the door and since I've been involved. So we've had very little time to work on anything else.

“But we believe that way of playing has been successful for us and we're hoping to get back to some level of performance that gets us three points. I think the new manager will come in and it'll be, unfortunately for him, possibly after the window.

“So he's got a group of players. But what I can say, he's got a group of honest players who are as united as a dressing room as I've ever seen. And I’ve been involved in the game for a lot of years, both as a player and as a coach. They are so united. You want to see that on the pitch. He's got a lot of quality and it'll be up to him to try and get the best out of that quality.”

Kettlewell handed in his resignation after he explained “some of the personal abuse was now affecting his family, to the point where they didn’t wish to attend games.” Frail explained: “He's kept a lot to himself. You could see that sometimes maybe on the sideline, one or two things that would happen and maybe the frustrations coming through. He kept it well hidden, to be fair, although we could see that he wasn't himself most of the time.

“He's an exciting young coach and manager and I was gutted personally because he brought me to the football club. I just hope he gets an opportunity soon, if he wants one, to get back into the game. We're just concentrating now on trying to get that positivity back into the team and performances.

“I think when you look at it, it was a very small minority. We've got, in my opinion, a really strong fan base, this community-led club. We've got a good fan base. It was one or two of the elements that have taken that a little bit too far. We need to try and get this connectivity back. Everyone, to try and connect the club and make sure that we're ready going forward for this game on Sunday and for the rest of the season.”

The transfer window remains open and Frail says there are still some things ongoing in the background. He added: “We were nearly getting to the end of the window, there are one or two still that have been bubbling away under the surface when Stuart was here, so they’re still ongoing.

“We need to see how that pans out, whether someone thinks I’m going to take a chance and come there, without a manager who is bringing me to the club. On the recruitment side of things we’re on top of one or two things that are just under the surface.”