Motherwell face St Mirren at Fir Park on Wednesday in desperate need of a morale boosting win.
After months without a league success and a cup loss to Raith Rovers, Motherwell parted company with Stevie Hammell at the weekend. The loss of a manager who had a 25 year long relationship with the club prompted an outpouring of sympathy for the much respected former player mixed with acceptance of the departure.
Motherwell 2 St Mirren 2 in April 2022
Stuart Kettlewell will take charge until the vacancy is filled and he will know the difficulties that lie ahead. The team looked lost and demoralised as they left Stark’s Park on Saturday. They know that their performances have cost the manager his job and that they have to improve is the club is to avoid the drop.
‘Well fans have to hope that Kettlewell can find some way to instil some self-belief into the group of under-performers. A nervous and unsure eleven are sure to make costly errors. To that end the loss of the first goal has to be avoided.
The fixture was originally scheduled in December but the great deluge caused flooding at Fir Park and this will be St Mirren’s first visit to Fir Park this season. Half of the visiting team will have to avoid old habits and remember to enter the away dressing room.
Although Stephen Robinson’s team have won only two of their last nine league games (one of those against Motherwell last month) they still hold on to sixth place in the table. With Jonah Ayunga, Curtis Main and Mark O’Hara sharing eighteen goals between them they will expect to score.
The bookies are offering up to 2/1 on the away win and that may be a shrewd investment given Motherwell’s current slump. Fir Park regulars will hope for the best but a 2-0 loss would be no surprise.