Stuart Kettlewell takes satisfaction in leading Motherwell to fourth spot in the Premiership – but knows he’s only two defeats away from being “the worst manager”.
Kettlewell aims to bag a third successive Premiership win when Kilmarnock come calling on Friday night, a feat not achieved by the club since May 2023.
The Fir Park gaffer knows that will be far from easy against a strong side that grabbed a solid win over Hearts on Sunday, despite being down to 10 men for most of the game, but says his side go into the floodlit clash with some confidence of their own.
Kettlewell said: “We’re good, we keep talking about this, that we’re one game away from being the worst team and the worst manager, the worst coaching staff in the world, and you’re a game or two away from being the best – it’s football in this country, it is what it is.
“You don’t get too high, you don’t get too low, but the bit that we can say is that our group, our players, are feeling good.
“They’re not much different to how they were two weeks ago, and that’s how we try and run things here, and approach every single day.
“We feel that by beating Dundee United for a third time this season we’ve put ourselves in a decent spot, but now that task is to try and maximise the next opportunity.
“The next opportunity is to try and win a third game in a row, as difficult as that’s going to be.
“I think Kilmarnock are a really good team at this level, they’re such a difficult opponent, but I look forward to the game on the Friday night.
“That was one thing I said against Dundee United in the quarter-final of the cup, that it always has that slightly different, special feel under the floodlights.
“We got a terrific crowd here against Dundee United in the cup, and we hope for something very similar here when the game comes around.”
Kettlewell was given a different outlook on Saturday’s 4-3 win over Dundee United, as a dug-out suspension saw him in the stands.
He joked that meant coach David Clarkson got an earful, but is pleased to be back down in his usual place on Friday night.
Kettlewell said: “I absolutely hated it, especially the nature of the game, 4-3.
“I think as a manager we’re all different, we all act in different ways. I’m probably quite an emotional guy, animated at times, and sometimes that’s a way you let off your frustrations or look to try and get your message across.
“Davie Clarkson, who was on the other end of the earpiece to me, is probably still suffering, I think his ear is still burning, because you’re so passionate about it.
“You want your team to do well, you want your people to do well, you want your club to do well, that’s the way it has always been.
“I wear my heart of my sleeve, I always have done, probably always will do, but it was a different experience.
“Of course you see different elements and a bigger picture – but I look forward to getting back down to the touchline on Friday.”