WHILE the credit for Motherwell’s remarkable recent resurgence is often shared between manager Stuart Kettlewell and the current darling of Fir Park, in-form goal machine Kevin Van Veen, the addition of some steel at the heart of their backline can’t be overlooked.
January arrivals Calum Butcher and Dan Casey in particular have been rock-solid as part of a back three with Paul McGinn for the hitherto porous Motherwell defence, almost halving the frequency by which the Steelmen concede goals.
Prior to their involvement, Motherwell had shipped 42 goals in 25 Premiership matches, but they have now conceded just seven goals in their last seven games, four of which came in the sole defeat of that run against Rangers.
The clean sheet against Livingston on Saturday contributed to their fifth win of that seven-match sequence, helped along the way by yet another Van Veen double and a Max Johnston strike, all of which came before the interval.
The second half saw Motherwell come off the gas a little going forward, but the defence retained its focus, and they rarely looked like conceding against an admittedly woeful Livi outfit.
Changed days then down Fir Park way, and one of the only concerns at the moment for a support who were fretting about their team’s top-flight status until recently is that a key member of their defensive unit in Casey is only contracted at the club until the summer.
The extension of that deal should be a priority for Kettlewell, and he will no doubt be as pleased as the club’s supporters will be to hear that the Irishman is eager to extend his stay in Lanarkshire.
“Of course I would, things are going very well,” Casey said. “But I don’t even want to get my head into that space.
“I’m just concentrating on one game at a time and that’s my focus really.
“It’s funny, because I came in so late [in the transfer window] I’ve just been thinking one game at a time.
“There’s no point in thinking about my future just now because I could be here one day and touch wood, I could get injured or something. You never know what can happen in football.
“So, it’s just one game at a time and I’m just taking it like that really.”
Casey’s impact will no doubt be cold comfort to former Motherwell manager Stevie Hammell, who was involved in bringing him and Butcher to the club before being dismissed following their debut defeat to Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.
It must follow then that the atmosphere around the club at present is hugely different to the one he walked into after arriving from Sacramento Republic.
“I wasn’t here long enough if I’m honest!” he said.
“Football is a funny game, things happen, people change, and it was just one of those situations where people needed to change things up, and luckily enough for us it has given us a reaction.
“I came in under the previous manager, but I was only in for a week or so. It was tough [when he was sacked], but that’s football at the end of the day. We’re all under pressure and we have to do our jobs.
“It doesn’t matter if you are doing well one week, if you take your foot off the gas someone else will be in.
“You just have to keep going as a team and everyone individually as well.”
As for Livingston, their collapse in form could hardly have come at a worse time, finding themselves three down at the break for the second week in succession.
Manager Davie Martindale shouldered the blame for the defeats over the past fortnight after the game at Fir Park, but midfielder Jason Holt says that it is down to the collective to get back to the things that put them in such a good position in the first place before they blow their top-six hopes.
“As a collective we’re accountable as well,” Holt said.
“You can’t pin this run on individual players or members of staff because we share that responsibility as a group.
“The last two weeks haven’t been like us at all. At Livi, we’ve always prided ourselves on being hard to beat but we’ve now conceded six goals in our last two games.
“It’s been a difficult time but it’s up to us to rectify that.”
