Motherwell caretaker boss Stephen Frail says Stuart Kettlewell’s sudden departure as manager won’t affect potential signings – unless they balk at a different man coming in.
And while the club haven’t yet set a time line to get a replacement at Fir Park, Frail reckons the new boss will come in after the transfer window’s closure on Monday.
That doesn’t mean he will be ‘stuck’ with players, and Frail reckons there is quality at the Lanarkshire club.
Kettlewell quit on Monday, following what he says was unacceptable abuse from supporters, with Frail put in charge for the visit by champions Celtic on Sunday.
On potential signings, Frail said: “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.”
When asked if there was a time line, Frail said chief executive Brian Caldwell could answer that question.
But he added “I think I read there are over 100 applicants, I think that shows the strength of the job.
“It’s a really good job for someone to come in and take.”
Frail says nothing will radically change for the clash with Celtic.
He said: “My role at this 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 or without it. There will be one or two little tweaks, in terms of personnel.
“I know some fans are wanting it ripped up, and to go out and play this different style of football.
“We don’t go out to play this non-possession-based game, that’s just sometimes just the way games work out,.
“A change and a reset will come when a new manager walks in.
“The players have worked to this set-up and 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 hope to get back to some level of performance that gets us three points.”
On what a new manager should do, Frail said: “Use the players that you’ve got. I think the new manager will come in, unfortunately for him it will be possibly after the window, so he’s got a group of players,.
“But what I can say is he has a group of honest players who are as united 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 a coach.
“You want to see that on the pitch, and we’re hoping that alignment is back with the fans, they get right behind the players, and they get a group of players that’s willing to play and get three points.
“He has quality in there, and it would be up to him to try and get the best out of that.”