This is an excerpt from this week's Claret and Amber Alert, a free Motherwell newsletter written by Graeme McGarry that goes out every Thursday at 6pm. To sign up, click here.
Praise be! Remarkably, for the first time since this newsletter began in early October, we are basking in the warm afterglow of a Motherwell win.
It might even have been two as well had it not been for the stoppage time Hibernian goal on Tuesday night, but to emerge from the past week with four points from two games – and particularly the three from the Livingston clash – has brought some much-needed New Year cheer.
Fair play to Stuart Kettlewell. The manager had taken plenty of stick over the 15-game winless run, and eyebrows were again raised when the team lines dropped ahead of the Livi game, with Theo Bair and Oli Shaw in the attack either side of Mika Biereth.
A similar set-up featuring Bair and the now departed Conor Wilkinson (we hardly knew ye) had proven ineffectual on a couple of occasions previously, but this time, Bair stepped up to the plate and then some.
What a transformation in the big man, who followed up his double against Livi with another at Easter Road. His brilliant second goal against the Lions had some fans christening him ‘Theo Messi’, and against all expectations, it may well be that Kettlewell was right all along in his assertion that there is a player in there somewhere.
Which brings me to my wider point. I don’t think it is unfair, or any exaggeration, to say that the fans would have turned on the manager had Livingston managed to leave Fir Park last weekend with three points.
Having come through what I myself had billed his ‘D-day’ so impressively though, and backed that up with a decent display and a more than decent point in Edinburgh, the challenge now for Kettlewell is to prove that this is a sliding doors moment for the club, rather than a false dawn.
To do that, the club must now do everything in their power to back their manager in the transfer window this month, which to be fair, they have historically been willing to do.
The worry from the outside though is that many fans have started to lose faith in head of recruitment Nick Daws.
The churn of players at Motherwell over the past few years is remarkable. That has no doubt been influenced by the churn in the dugout, while the blow of departures of players such as Brodie Spencer - recalled from his loan spell by parent club Huddersfield Town after a successful stint at the club - cannot be used as a stick with which to beat him.
But there has no doubt been just as many misses as hits over the past few years since Daws’ arrival, and this looks to be just as big a window for his own reputation and his future at the club as it is for Kettlewell’s.
Wilkinson, for example, was brought in during the summer ostensibly as a replacement for Kevin van Veen. He has disappeared back down the road to Colchester United after half a season, and just four goals in 19 appearances.
Despite his recent purple patch of three goals in two games, Bair has just five for the season in total over 22 appearances. Shaw has yet to score in 16 outings for the club since his arrival on loan from Barnsley, and while most of those appearances have been from the bench, he can’t say he hasn’t had chances to break that duck.
So, hopefully the departure of Wilkinson allows Kettlewell to recruit a little help for Mika Biereth up top, who has been the standout performer in attack so far this season. Whether the wage freed up by Wilkinson leaving is comparable to Van Veen’s at Groningen, mind you, is sadly doubtful.
Spencer’s departure must also be compensated for, with a quick glance at Motherwell’s bench for the match at Easter Road clearly showing the threadbare nature of the squad at present below the starting XI.
Though, there are two ways to look at the fact there were five academy players among the substitutes. Kettlewell said himself that it was great to give the boys the experience of being involved in the matchday squad, but none of them were deemed worthy of getting the experience of actually stepping onto the pitch.
While it may be understandable why Kettlewell would be reluctant to throw a young player into that situation, the fact that just two substitutes were used by the manager - as a tiring team tried to hold onto a lead on the back of the hectic festive programme - may well have contributed to their failure to do so.
Motherwell found it difficult to get out in those closing stages of the game, and perhaps some young, energetic legs might have helped in that regard.
As much as it is important that players are recruited to help compensate for the departures of Spencer and Wilkinson, then, it would also be good to see more of the club’s own youngsters getting an opportunity in the second half of the season despite the still precarious position of the team.
So, full credit to Kettlewell for coming through the Livingston test and for earning a point against Hibs. It may well be though that with the transfer window now open, the real work now lies ahead.
