Stuart Kettlewell addresses Motherwell transfer plans after Theo Bair exit as he looks to strengthen key areas
Motherwell have sold the striker for a hefty transfer fee.
Stuart Kettlewell says Motherwell will look to strengthen in attacking areas after Theo Bair was sold to French side Auxerre.
The club drew 1-1 against Montrose in their second Premier Sports Cup group stage game, winning 5-4 on penalty kicks. Next up is Clyde away before finishing the section at home to Partick Thistle, with the Fir Park side needing to win their remaining fixtures to guarantee top spot. They have five points after an opening win vs Edinburgh City.
Action at Links Park brought an end to a dramatic day at Fir Park, after investment proposals from Wild Sheep Sport were canned, while Bair left in a seven-figure deal to Auxerre exceeding the £1.3m figure that has been reported Speaking after the game, Kettlewell said some of the cash may be reinvested into strengthening his final third.
He explained: “It goes into the top five transfers this club has ever benefited from. That is a massive thing. It helps us in monetary terms. I think you see tonight we are a bit short in the top end of the pitch. We need more options.
“We still have five or six in the treatment room who I think will add to us and give us much more than we had here at times. Without question I need to dip into the transfer market and see if I can add one or two more options in the front end of the pitch.
“I would love to think, or we certainly will get a chance, to go and reinvest a little bit of that money. We all know the situation at Motherwell, that is not going to be dramatic amounts. We don’t get that fee in and pay it straight back out on somebody else. There will be a small percentage we can hopefully reinvest.
“What we need to do is start that process again. We need to go and try and see not only if we can replace Kevin van Veen’s 29 goals, Theo Bair’s 15, we have to try and do it again. I think we can get more out some of the guys we have here currently, especially in the front area of the park. I think we need more support in there and we need probably a different dimension in our play as well.”
On the match, the manager added after conceding a late goal to Montrose: “That has to be a teachable moment. When you think you are comfortable and dominating the ball, except from a fingertip save by Aston Oxborough from a long throw, we have had nothing going towards our goal.
“That is no caveat. When we do have all the ball and running of the game, we need to make that count and carve our more opportunities. We have to make sure we at least work the target or shift the ball into a better goal scoring opportunity. I didn’t feel we did that. We need to take ownership for not being ruthless.”