Motherwell

With Celtic, Rangers and a host of English top-flight clubs scouting Lennon Miller, the Motherwell midfielder's father, Lee, says the 18-year-old's next move will not necessarily be to the biggest club but one with the right manager, ethos, style of play and chance for the Scotland youth international to continue playing first-team football. (The Warm-up Show), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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St Mirren's Charles Dunne will get scans on a hamstring complaint but fellow defender Alex Iacovitti has trained for two weeks after recovering from a hamstring injury and might be involved.

Stephen O'Donnell is close to a Motherwell return after hamstring trouble but might have to wait another week while Sam Nicholson will be gradually reintroduced after recovering from a knee injury.

Tom Sparrow (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Callum Slattery (knee), Jack Vale (calf) and Zach Robinson (Achilles) remain out.

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Stuart Kettlewell has called for Scottish football to take head knocks seriously after failing to get clarity on why Motherwell's game with Dundee was not stopped following a double blow for Kofi Balmer.

The Motherwell boss feels defender Balmer was fouled when he attacked a corner before being dragged to the ground and caught with a knee to the face and stud to the head.

Balmer was still lying in the opposite penalty area with blood coming out of his mouth when referee John Beaton played on, allowing Dundee to break upfield to score.

Kettlewell says the club had received no clarity after talks between chief executive Brian Caldwell and the Scottish FA's head of referees Willie Collum following the 4-1 defeat.

"Why I say that is because we've had a mixed message, on whether there was a head knock, or whether they'd seen a head knock, or whether the head knock was there but they didn't think it was too significant, or they just didn't completely see the player lying on the ground," said Kettlewell.

"So I feel we've had a few different versions of that until we get to the end point, which is ultimately, if we'd seen it, we would have stopped the game.

"'He's on the ground', was my exact words, 'he's holding his head, and he's motionless.' Those were my words. I understand that the referee might be following the ball but that's why it's a team of officials.

"As match officials, when you see someone lying on the ground, falling to the ground, holding their head, not moving, you do not get to decide how bad that is. I thought universally that was just something that stopped.

"We're going to have to start taking these head injuries seriously. Hhow bad does it need to get before somebody actually starts to take it really, really seriously and starts to implement real strategy to try and protect the player, get medical attention on the pitch as quick as you possibly can when there's a blow to the head or two blows to the head?"

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Stuart Kettlewell says fan anger at Motherwell's recent poor form is a "learning curve" for his side but admits criticism of his own performance is "part of the game".

The Steelmen, who visit St Mirren on Saturday, are on a run of three successive defeats and and have lost six of their last eight in all competitions.

Manager Kettlewell has called on supporters to stick with the side as the fans' backing can boost confidence among the squad.

He said: "It's blue-sky thinking that everybody supports us through thick or thin and good results, bad results and everybody's always happy but we all know that's not the reality of football, I'll always take accountability for the bad results.

"But the way I look at it is, the more support and the more backing you get, the more confidence the players get without question. Take me out of the equation, take the staff out of the equation, but the more confidence the players get.

"That's all made easier with support, but how do I sit here for a second and tell somebody how they should react when they've travelled up to Dundee and they've watched their team lose or they've travelled to Dingwall?

"People are entitled to their opinions and football supporters are always going to have their opinions.

"That seems incredibly strong just now, that starts to become a bit abusive and it starts to become a bit personal in football in general… that's a part of the game. If you can't handle that, if you can't take it, I'll always say that I feel you're in the wrong industry.

"There's always an understanding that if there's a backing, if there's a real support, in particular the players, especially some of the young guys that we've got in the squad, then I always believe that you'll get more out of them, I believe they will show a really good reaction.

"But listen, sometimes that's part of the learning curve to walk off at Dens and walk by unhappy supporters for young players and they have to learn through that experience as well."

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• Motherwell's Lennon Miller has created more chances from set-piecess than any other player in the Scottish Premiership this season (18), with all four of his assists also coming via dead balls.

• St Mirren have only won one of their last nine home games against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L4), a 1-0 victory in January 2023.

• After their 2-1 win in September, Motherwell are looking to earn back-to-back Scottish Premiership victories over St Mirren for only the third time since the Buddies returned to the division in 2018, having previously done so in December 2019 and July 2022.

• St Mirren have won four of their eight home league games this season (D2 L2), more than their final 11 such matches of 2023-24 (W3 D2 L6).

• Since a goalless draw with Ross County in their opening match this season, none of Motherwell's last 13 league games have ended level (W6 L7). They've lost their last three in a row, last losing four consecutively in October 2023.

Colin Moffat
BBC Sport Scotland

Motherwell are on a sequence of three successive defeats – all to teams who were below them in the table, prior to kick-off at least. Now comes a visit to St Mirren, who lurk one point behind in seventh place.

Stuart Kettlewell's side have shipped seven goals to Hibs and Dundee in the past two outings and their last clean sheet came on the opening weekend of the Premiership season at the start of August.

Will the manager be tempted to change things at the back, or will he keep the faith for this often low-scoring rivalry?

We've only had two goals across the last three meetings between these two in Paisley, while there hasn't been more than two goals in this fixture in the PA3 postcode since a 3-0 win for Motherwell in December 2019.

Rather than worry about formations, Kettlewell's biggest concern may be the mindset of his players, who folded in the face of adversity at Dens Park after such a meek display at home to Hibs.

Motherwell have form for drifting on poor runs - going 15 without a league victory last season, while the previous campaigns brought winless runs of 11, 11 and 12, so Kettlewell will be anxious to stop the rot setting in.

Read all the weekend's Premiership picks

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Jair Tavares is content to play anywhere for Motherwell as he looks to build on his first start.

The on-loan Hibernian winger, a surprise starter in the 4-1 defeat at Dundee in midweek, is confident the Steelmen can get back on track away to St Mirren on Saturday.

"That [wing-back] is not my usual position but I was just happy to be on the pitch," Tavares said.

"I haven't been playing for long, that was my first game in the starting 11 and I'm just happy to be out there on the pitch and get more minutes. That's the only thing I'm focused on.

"I've been working very hard to get my opportunities, so I just have to keep working hard and hopefully more opportunities will come."

Motherwell's third successive defeat dropped them a place to sixth in the Premiership, but Tavares said: "I believe we will bounce back. We just have to stick together, stick to the plan.

"In my opinion it was never a 4-1 game but it's gone now. We just have to focus now on Saturday because we have a big game coming up."

Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton are tracking Motherwell 18-year-old midfielder Lennon Miller, with the Scotland Under-21 midfielder also interesting Liverpool and Newcastle United. (Daily Mail), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Sportscene pundits Steven Naismith and Marvin Bartley analyse Motherwell's 4-1 Scottish Premiership defeat by Dundee.

We asked for your views on Motherwell's 4-1 defeat against Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

David: Absolute shambles of a defensive performance which had no obvious organisation with the fourth goal summing it up as Kofi Balmer looked half hearted after deciding he might get beat to the ball. Starting to look very much like last season when it was one in about 18 without a win and some tough fixtures to come before Christmas. Think we have to look at the dug out.

Derek: This run has been coming. A team without shape, structure and purpose. The media love in with Stuart Kettlewell baffles me. Poor signings and different formation in every game only leading us one way. Will be stunned if we don't go down.

Graeme: Not good enough. Time's up for Kettlewell.

Jack: Three games on the trot where the performance of our players is totally unacceptable. Three goals from down our right side, too easy. Who was our right back anyway? Hope Jair Tavares is better at singing than he is at football, waste of a jersey. What is Kettlewell thinking? Does he want us in a relegation dog fight again?

Colin: The way we are playing now is highly reminiscent of last season's slump. Our inability to score goals puts too much pressure on our back line not to concede. When we lose a goal the team panics and we often let in three or four in a game. Our manager needs to change his tactics and quickly. Time is running out for him.

Sharon: Kettlewell out. Simple. We have no identity. No idea what the team will be every week. Players out of position all over the pitch. Relies on Stephen Frail throughout the 90 minutes. Out of his depth. Negative tactics and the more time he spends with players in training the more injuries and thumpings we get. Sick of excuses. He's had his time. Next.

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Former Scotland international Lee Miller insists Stuart Kettlewell can turns things around at Motherwell, despite their recent poor form.

Wednesday night's 4-1 defeat at Dundee made it three losses on the bounce for the Steelmen, who are still in the top six - one point above seventh-placed St Mirren.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos's equaliser brought Kettlewell's side back into the game at Dens, but they capitulated, conceding three goals in seven second-half minutes.

"Everything that could go wrong last night went wrong for Motherwell," Miller told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Kettlewell is a very good manager and he did turn it around. He was allowed to have that time, which I totally agree with. Teams go through ruts like that. You have to pull your sleeves up and dig in and get together as a group.

"They have got a really good group, I know that for a fact. I hope and I think they will get through it, this bad run, but they just need to work their socks off."

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• Lyall Cameron has scored 4 goals in the Premiership this season (2 in this game), no Dundee player has more.

• Motherwell have lost their last 3 games in the Premiership, their last longer losing streak was from 16th September 2023 to 7th October 2023, a run of 4 games.

• Dundee are undefeated in their last 3 games in the Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 18th May 2024 to 31st August 2024, a run of 5 games.

• Motherwell have attempted 24 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee have scored in each of their last 5 games in the Premiership, scoring 13 goals in that run.

Watch the best of the action as Dundee put four goals past Motherwell to move up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership. (UK only)

Match report: Dundee 4-1 Motherwell

Dundee thrashed miserable Motherwell to record their second 4-1 victory in a row at home and rise to fifth in the Scottish Premiership.

Three second-half goals eased Dundee to victory, with Scott Tiffoney's goal on the counter putting Tony Docherty's side back in front before a Lyall Cameron double had them out of sight.

Motherwell's response was decent but they could not dent the deficit and instead recorded their third defeat in a row, falling to sixth.

What did you make of that, Motherwell fans? What went so wrong in Dundee?

And are you worried that this slump could continue? Let us know your thoughts, external.

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Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell told BBC Scotland: "I don't even think it's about the second half, when Dundee scored their second goal we were well on top.

"You get senses about your team and I felt really comfortable, we had plenty of penalty box entries and then you get to the incident that I would imagine we all have to be talking about which is a corner kick for us.

"I sat with the officials last night and we all spoke about a scenario where if an attacker gets goal side of the defender, we agreed last night those would be penalty kicks.

"Tonight it was not. Kofi Balmer takes a knee and a stud to the head. I've had a conversation with John Beaton there and he decided to play God and decide whether it was a bad enough head knock or not.

"He never moves from the ground, the counter-attack goes up the other end, I'm talking to the fourth official telling them the players' not moved inside the penalty area and we choose to play on and Dundee scores. That's when the absolute madness ensues. We have to take responsibility for goals three and four but we also have to realise how big those moments are in games of football when the balance is so fine.

"That impacts livelihoods, that impacts jobs, that impacts the emotion of the supporters, the league position and everything else. When we have a chance to look back at it we have to do something about it."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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The other thing that Kettlewell mentioned pre-match was not showing Dundee "any weaknesses," yet it seemed his players weren't listening.

Although they had far more shots, a far higher xG (expected goals), and far more touches in the opposition box, a lot of that was too little, too late.

Dundee were clinical, bullying a Motherwell defence that was put to the sword by Hibernian just a few days ago.

The first goal should have been stopped higher up the pitch. The second came from their own set-piece. The third was a deflection, and the fourth was a defender not wanting the ball more as much as a hungry striker.

The bottom has fallen out of Motherwell's strong early season form and Kettlewell needs to address it urgently. He's been on far worse runs than this, but a busy festive period is the last thing he needs.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Stuart Kettlewell didn't mince his words after his side's listless 3-0 loss to Hibs. "No excuses" he said, for "the worst performance" in a long time from his team.

He also talked about the reaction - or lack of it - his side showed to going a goal down.

That will be a particular disappointment for the manager. Losing a goal is one thing, but it was the lack of any real fight from his players in trying to get back into the game that seems to have irked Kettlewell most.

His team have an opportunity to put that right against Dundee tonight at Dens. Kettlewell will definitely want to see an improvement, in fact he'll be demanding it.

The slight worry is he suggested the lack of intent from his players was psychological. How do you work on that in training?

A confident mindset comes from winning games. In Motherwell's opening 13 matches, they only lost two. They were in a good place. In their last seven games, they've only won two. That needs to be rectified quickly otherwise there's a danger that negative mood will continue.

Their forthcoming games are tricky ones too. After the trip to face Dundee, they're away to St Mirren, then at home to Kilmarnock and Dundee United before a meeting with either side of the Old Firm.

That's six tough games to end the calendar year. Kettlewell will be hoping a mindset reversal can materialise.

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Curtis Main and Trevor Carson (both) have returned to Dundee training. Clark Robertson (thigh), Ziyad Larkeche (hamstring) and Scott Fraser (groin) remain out along with long-term absentee Joe Shaughnessy (knee).

Motherwell striker Zach Robinson is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles suffered in training on Tuesday.

Jair Tavares returns after missing the defeat against parent club Hibernian. The Steelmen remain without Tom Sparrow (ankle), Stephen O'Donnell, Ross Callachan (both hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson (both knee) and Jack Vale (calf).

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Motherwell striker Zach Robinson will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles in training.

The 22-year-old striker "went down as he went for the ball" during "a shape walkthrough" on Tuesday morning.

While Motherwell say there are "no clear timescales", the Englishman will undergo surgery on Thursday and "will be out for a considerable period of time, including the rest of this season".

Robinson has played 19 times, scoring twice, since joining the Scottish Premiership club following his exit from Wimbledon, from whom he was on loan to Dundee last season.

Manager Stuart Kettlewell told his club website: "This is a real blow. We have been working to get players back to fitness, which has been going well, but to then be dealt this news, it's gutting. We now have seven players unavailable, which is far from ideal.

"We were just going through team shape for Wednesday's game at walking pace. With no signs beforehand of an upcoming injury, it's disappointing all round. Most importantly, the player needs to be looked after."

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Motherwell defender Liam Gordon insists they will "rectify" their 3-0 defeat to bottom club Hibs.

Stuart Kettlewell's side travel to Dundee on Wednesday night looking for a response to back-to-back defeat to Ross County and Hibs.

“It’s very important that you address the mistakes and the errors and the problems that you face at the weekend and that's what we'll do," Gordon said.

"We've done that after every victory as well so nothing changes from that. It's the same head on with that approach.

"The manager can obviously give us ideas and implement certain solutions for us but it comes down to the players at the end of the day.

"I think at the weekend, that’s nothing on the coaching staff or the club, that was down to the players.

"We let ourselves down, we let the coaching staff down and we let the club down, most importantly.

"Now it's our opportunity to go and rectify that and I've got every faith that we will."

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• After their 1-0 win in October, Dundee could earn successive league victories over Motherwell for the first time since April 2017 (three in a row).

• Motherwell have won five and lost just one of their last seven league away games against Dundee (D1), winning their last such trip 3-2 in April last season.

• Dundee have won both of their last two home games in the Scottish Premiership, last winning three in a row in the top-flight on home turf in April 2002 under Ivano Bonetti which included a 2-0 victory over Motherwell.

• Since drawing four successive away games in the Scottish Premiership from December 2023 to February 2024, none of Motherwell's last 13 on the road in the league have finished level (W7 L6).

• Lyall Cameron has scored in three of his four Scottish Premiership appearances against Motherwell (three goals), including Dundee's winner in October (1-0).