Motherwell striker Tony Watt talks to the Scottish Football Podcast about the club's fortunes this season, and praises the job being done by manager Stuart Kettlewell.
Image source, SNSKaleta has broken into the Motherwell first-team in recent weeks
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell hailed Marvin Kaleta's development after the 20-year-old shone in Saturday's 2-1 win over St Johnstone.
The right-back - on loan from Premier League side Wolves - set up Tawanda Maswanhise's opening goal and delivered several more testing crosses on his first ever 90-minute senior appearance.
"We got him 90 minutes, that was brilliant," Kettlewell said. "There's been a bit of a joke with some of the senior guys and we've all had it as young players, he's been cramping up a little bit.
"This is only his fourth senior [start], all in the space of two weeks.
"So it's a brilliant landmark for him to perform that way and to get through the 90 minutes and I genuinely believe that he’ll just grow from strength to strength."
Kettlewell referenced a statistic that Motherwell have given significantly more minutes to Scottish under-21s than any other Premiership club this season, and he is understandably proud of the work done developing young homegrown talent.
"We're by far ahead of every other club in the top flight, which pleases me," Kettlewell said. "That's another thing on top of the seven extra points we've got on last season and the semi-final."
"I know Marvin's not that but again Ewan [Wilson] and Lennon [Miller], I need to keep banging the drum about that.
"I'll add that into the mix, not just Marvin but these young players that are experiencing the trials and tribulations of senior football but they're doing it very, very well at this point and you can see their growth and their development."
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Watch highlights of Motherwell's 2-1 win against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.
Watch highlights of Motherwell's 2-1 win against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.
(Available to UK viewers only)
We asked for your views on Motherwell's 2-1 win against St Johnstone.
Here's what some of you said:
Ronnie: That's the type of football we want to see. High press, fast down the wings and ball on the grass and look what happens. Too deep in the second half and missed Paul McGinn and Stephen O'Donnell's experience to push our team forward.
Stuart: Two really good goals and we could have had more, however we need to sort out possession as without it, it made the last 15 minutes difficult. Still a good win against a key rival.
Eddie: A win today, but only 34 percent possession at home. That'll cost us in some games.
Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSTawanda Maswanhise was grinning from ear-to-ear for much of Motherwell's magical first half performance against St Johnstone.
And he was still smiling post-match.
After his goal and assist inside the first 35 minutes, the Zimbabwe international can head off on international duty with his head held high.
"I'm really happy. I can't stop smiling, a goal and an assist for myself and I'm buzzing for the result really," he told BBC Scotland.
"Confidence is a big thing in my football journey so I'm just so happy and just keep smiling.
"I know the football we can play and obviously results matter in this league so as long as we keep going.
"We've got Ross County next and we know we can beat them, we are going to beat them, so I'm looking forward to getting another goal in the next league game."
The trip to Dingwall is just under two weeks away, though, and between now and then, the 21-year-old will join up with his national team.
"Going away it's a different environment and stuff, and then obviously coming back, you've got to adjust again so it shouldn't be too much of a change, but I'm ready for Ross County, that's my next focus."
St Johnstone attempted four shots on target in this match, higher than their season average of 3.3 in the Premiership.
St Johnstone have scored in their last five Premiership games.
Motherwell have conceded three goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only St Johnstone (four) and Ross County (four) have conceded more in the Premiership this season.
St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari endured a difficult return to Fir Park as Motherwell inflicted a third straight Scottish Premiership defeat on his side.
What did you make of Motherwell's performance? Is a top-six finish now a distinct possibility?
Image source, SNSMotherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "I thought we started slow but as soon as we started turning the ball over we knew there would be a lot of open space and areas we could cause St Johnstone problems.
"That proved to be the case. We converted two really good chances. We started the second half absolutely fine but where the story changes is the penalty for St Johnstone.
"There was some nervous energy in the stadium, but we showed a bit of composure after they scored their penalty. It was just the last six or seven minutes when they had a lot of ball but our goalkeeper didn't have a save to make at the end.
"It's a good day's work for us. We're seven points better off than we were at this stage last season which is quite significant, and we've been in a national semi-final. So everyone can see there has been progression at this club."
Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland
Image source, SNSIt was a masterful first-half performance from Motherwell which won this game. Manager Stuart Kettlewell and his players knew Simo Valakari's St Johnstone are more expansive than they have been in years, but also more vulnerable.
Time and again they broke at speed when Saints lost the ball, getting down the sides of centre-backs Jack Sanders and Kyle Cameron.
Right-back Marvin Kaleta was at the heart of that and was excellent at driving down the flank, putting in a perfect cross to create the opening goal.
Tom Sparrow's arrowed finish across the goalkeeper was another example of their neat and ruthless attacking.
Kettlewell continues to get the most out of this group as they make a strong case to finish in the top six this season.
They are now seven points clear of seventh place, already a significant gap.
Image source, SNSMarvin Kaleta was outstanding down the right-hand side for Motherwell. He was aggressive in the tackle, was a huge asset in attack and set up the opening goal with a wonderful cross.
Motherwell make just one enforced change to the XI which lost at Hampden against Rangers. Centre-back Liam Gordon serves the second game of his suspension and is replaced my midfielder Tom Sparrow. Harry Paton is on the bench for the first time this season after injuring his ankle during the summer.
Image source, SNSThe suspended Liam Gordon will miss out against former club St Johnstone while Harry Paton and Johnny Koutroumbis might be on the bench but are short of match fitness.
Motherwell remain without Stephen O'Donnell (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson (both knee), Ross Callachan (hamstring) and Jack Vale (calf).
St Johnstone goalkeeper Ross Sinclair misses out but his injury is not serious.
Lewis Neilson and Andre Raymond return while Croatian centre-half Bozo Mikulic could make his debut.
Uche Ikpeazu is back in training following knee surgery while Cammy MacPherson (hip) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) remain out.
Image source, SNSValakari made over 100 appearances in four years at Fir Park
Simo Valakari admits he has not been back to Motherwell since leaving the club 24 years ago as he looks forward to a reunion on Saturday when he takes his St Johnstone side to Lanarkshire.
The Finn joined Motherwell in 1996 as a player and spent four years at the club before leaving to join Derby County.
"It is nice to go back to Fir Park because that was the place I started my professional career," Valakari said.
"I played my last game for Motherwell in 2000 when we beat Rangers 2-0. It’s now 24 years, I have not been back there.
"It will be nice to see the stadium again, to see the fans, but we have a big job with St Johnstone and this is our thing now, so full focus."
Valakari was full of praise for Stuart Kettlewell's side, who sit fifth after a solid start to the Premiership campagin.
"I have been watching and following Motherwell a long time, for many reasons," Valakari added.
"I see a very strong team who have a good team chemistry who are working for each other, who have some special players, with some pace, some good midfielders with the ball, some good defenders. It’s a very solid team. We need to find our way to hurt the opponent."
And while he focused on Saturday's match, Valakari admitted he never thought he'd return to the Scottish game.
"Not even one day did I think I would get the chance to manage in the Scottish Premiership," he said "I have been working very hard to get here and I am so happy and proud to be manager of St Johnstone.
"It’s a great moment to go back there but... we leave the nostalgia. Great memories, they never go, I never forget them, but now it’s a new chapter."
Image source, SNSMidfielder Tom Sparrow insists there is "more to come" from Motherwell amid their bright start to the seaon.
The 21-year-old says the injury-hit Steelmen have put last weekend's League Cup semi-final defeat by Rangers behind them and are focused on St Johnstone's visit on Saturday.
"We put it to bed, we have an important game on Saturday that we need to focus on," said Sparrow.
"We just need to keep going. I think there's more to come from us.
"The injuries is a big thing, you look at the squad from the weekend and there were a lot of lads missing who would have played a big part of that, which is important.
"But we are fourth in the table with them missing so the other lads have done really well. Hopefully when everyone's back and fit, we will kick on even more.
"I feel settled now. I've had a couple of starts and hopefully some more. Everyone's been brilliant and I just want to kick on and keep improving."
Image source, SNSStuart Kettlewell is urging his Motherwell side not to have a Hampden hangover as they look to bounce back from their League Cup disappointment without injured right-back Stephen O'Donnell.
Motherwell welcome St Johnstone to Fir Park on Saturday and the manager stressed it is imperative to "take care of league action" and park the disappointment of Sunday's semi-final defeat by Rangers.
"That's what I said, don't have a hangover and that disappointment," he said. "But you've got another opportunity to do it as well. As difficult as that might be, this football club under Stephen Robinson managed to do that some six years ago, get to Hampden a few times in the season.
"But I don't think you'll ever achieve anything unless you're taking care of the league action. So very simply, they have to take the good aspects of it, you have to be motivated by the negative side of it.
"But it's not just about cup football, that's about trying to take that into league action for us as well."
Motherwell will need to do it without O'Donnell, who missed out on Sunday with a hamstring injury and is set to endure a spell on the sidelines.
"He's going to be out for a period of time," Kettlewell said. "It's difficult to put the exact date on that but we know categorically he'll be out for at least another four weeks and potentially into December."
Image source, SNSMotherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has been addressing the media before his side's Premiership match against St Johnstone this weekend.
Here are the key points:
The manager says the new board "share his vision" of moving the club forward in a "positive way".
Kettlewell is "not having to pick players up off the canvas" following their League Cup semi-final defeat by Rangers: "We're OK, we're fine despite unbelievable disappointment on Sunday night and Monday morning but we're desperate to get back into league action."
He has urged his players "not to have a hangover" after the cup exit.
Lennon Miller is also "absolutely fine" due to his maturity, despite captaining Motherwell in the weekend defeat.
Kettlewell says his side have "undoubtedly" improved from last season and he is "jealous" of the young players who played at Hampden on Sunday.
Stephen O'Donnell will be out for "at least another four weeks and potentially into December".
After their 2-1 win in August, Motherwell are looking for back-to-back league victories over St Johnstone for the first time since November 2019.
St Johnstone have won three of their last four away league games at Motherwell (D1), this after having lost four of their previous five such trips beforehand (W1).
Motherwell have lost their last two home league games, last losing more on the bounce in November 2022 (4).
St Johnstone have conceded more goals in the Scottish Premiership this season than any other side (25), keeping just two clean sheets in their 12 matches so far. Indeed, only Dundee (19.0) have a higher expected goals against total in the division this term than the Perth side (17.4).
Motherwell have had fewer shots (108) than any team in the Scottish Premiership this season, while only Hibernian and Ross County (both 10) have scored fewer goals than the Steelmen (13).
Sport Republic, which owns Southampton, French club Valenciennes and Turkish outfit Goztepe, is keeping close tabs on 18-year-old midfielder Lennon Miller, but it would take a potential club record bid, in excess of David Turnbull's sale to Celtic, for Motherwell to even consider selling. (Daily Record), external
St Johnstone are expecting to have a long-awaited work permit for centre-back Bozo Mikulic in time for the Croat to make his debut against Motherwell on Saturday. (The Courier), external
Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.
Image source, SNSJenna Thomson
Fan writer
I am bitterly disappointed following Motherwell's Hampden defeat by Rangers.
With how poor Rangers have been on and off the park we had the perfect opportunity, and we threw it away.
Stuart Kettlewell's substitutions were confusing - they somehow made the game worse for us. By the 60th minute it was as if we were a team deflated, having taken the lead in the first half. If we had just stuck it out, we could have made it into extra time and penalties where anything could have happened.
Giving Lennon Miller the armband was a mistake. I was incredibly proud of him but the captaincy was far too much pressure for him in such a high-stakes game.
Andy Halliday scoring was phenomenal, it was an amazing goal and at the time I didn't even notice the lack of celebration, but it has bothered me looking back.
Why does Halliday feel the need to make gestures as though he is sorry for scoring when he left Rangers years ago? He is employed by Motherwell and he was doing his job by scoring.
If I were to apologise to my former employer for doing my current job everyone would look at me strangely.
Not celebrating with your teammates in the biggest game of our season just feels odd to me. Players around the world have done the same and that is up to the individuals involved, but it just doesn't sit right on this occasion.
Image source, SNSMotherwell midfielder Lennon Miller is targeting more Hampden appearances with Motherwell after Sunday's League Cup semi-final defeat by Rangers.
The Steelmen led through Andy Halliday's first-half strike, but two second-half concessions ended their hopes of a first major trophy since 1991.
"It's my first semi-final in my career, I want to have many more – especially with this club," Miller said.
"It's a massive achievement to get here, so we can't less this affect our season.
"First half I thought we were really good. We maybe didn't create as many chances as we would have wanted but we go in at 1-0.
"The early goal in the second half kinds of kills us. A good team like Rangers are going to punish you. Early goal maybe knocks our confidence a little."
Miller was named captain for the semi-final in Stephen O'Donnell's absence, and despite being praised by fans and pundits alike for his displays this season, the 18-year-old insists there is more to come.
"[My season has] been alright," he said. "I'm a harsh critic to myself – I want more goals and assists."
Image source, SNSAfter a scintillating run of form, that included captaining his club in a cup semi-final at just 18 yesterday, some onlookers thought Lennon Miller might have won his maiden Scotland call-up today.
He is certainly on Steve Clarke's radar, but the Scotland head coach explained his decision to allow the teenager "to grow", rather than be called up for the upcoming matches against Croatia and Poland.
"It's good for Lennon, it's good for his club," Clarke said. "He's another young one that everyone wants to hype and push.
"It's important to let young players to grow. Let's just allow Lennon a little bit of space and time to grow."
Clarke spoke similarly about Ben Doak, 18, not all that long ago before calling him up for the Euros squad - which he missed through injury - and the Nations League campaign, in which he has won four caps.
"You want to have as many difficult choices as you can, you want to have as many good players as you can, so the more young players coming through the better it is for everybody in Scotland," Clarke continued.
"It's already been mentioned in one of the reports that came out recently that we don’t produce enough young players, so hopefully we can in the future."
Instead, Miller will remain with the Scotland Under-19s over the international break, as they prepare for three home European Championship qualifiers against Wales, Liechtenstein and France.
