Stuart Kettlewell won't have 'knee-jerk' reaction to a Motherwell loss as one demand set with Celtic looming
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Stuart Kettlewell admits his Motherwell team looked a touch ‘dazed’ in their 1-0 defeat to Dundee on Saturday - but it must be a bump in the road with Celtic looming.
Heading into the Premiership clash at Fir Park off the back of six wins in seven games, a Lyall Cameron goal split the sides in a low-key match in ML1. Motherwell created few clear chances to level the game and suffered their first defeat at home this campaign, with Celtic to come next weekend.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe club had players away on international duty in the build-up, one of which was Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, the Australian international subbed at half-time with a sore stomach. Club captain Paul McGinn was ruled out longer-term pre-match with a thigh problem.
Kettlewell refused to delve into excuses for a loss as he admits Dundee were the better team, with attentions quickly turning to the champions next Sunday. He said: "How much of it can be owed to players coming back from trips? None whatsoever.
"I'm not being over-reactive to a situation. We want international players, we want guys that are performing well so that their countries are picking them. Dundee are a good side, I said that before the game, and for us to take anything, we definitely needed another 20-30% on to what we've had.
"But we don't get carried away, there is no knee-jerk reaction. It's a bump in the road and we have to pick ourselves up and make sure we're better, albeit with the size of the task next week against Celtic."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdKettlewell added: "I'll be honest, I think Dundee deserve to win the game, simple as that. We are not going to try and mask around it. I just didn't feel as if we were anything close to what we have been in a really good start to the season.
"I felt we looked a little bit dazed in our decision-making and our quality, so we've got a real tinge of disappointment. It was my greatest fear coming off a good run. You get asked the question all week, then we come out and we don't reach the levels that we have done."
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.