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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Gavin McCafferty

Kevin van Veen happy with Motherwell’s new style despite lack of points

MOTHERWELL striker Kevin van Veen is enjoying the new style of play under Steven Hammell but is desperate to get some more rewards.

Well have taken one point from four cinch Premiership matches but have had opportunities at key moments in each game to take more.

Motherwell take on Ross County in Dingwall on Tuesday looking to get back to winning ways.

“We have not won in the last three games but at the same time the performances have been there,” the Dutchman said. “We have been very good actually so it’s a tough one.

“We are definitely going with an intent to go forward, create chances, and actually play attractive football.

“Maybe we need to defend better as a whole team and be clinical in the other side to put it away as well.

“There is a lot of hope and everybody can see that we are improving and working hard for each other.

“The last three games we have definitely had the work ethic and desire to do well for each other and it just didn’t go our way. Hopefully next game it will.

“We have definitely changed identity since the gaffer came in. We have seen the stats ourselves with the amount of passes we make, the certain movements we are trying to make, and the chances we are creating.

“That is from how we set up and try to play and it’s down to the staff and gaffer and the way we train every day.

“It’s been very good and I think everyone in the dressing room is enjoying this football. We want to pick up points, that’s the main priority, and hopefully we can do that again.”

Van Veen has scored seven goals this season, putting him comfortably ahead of his nearest rivals in the club charts – only Blair Spittal and Callum Slattery have notched once.

He has recently been handed some support though following the signing of Louis Moult, who has come off the bench in the past two games.

Van Veen said: “It’s another number nine who can link up well, and a very good guy, everyone has seen the benefits of him coming in. Hopefully one day we can link up together, he is a very, very good player.”

Motherwell have dropped down the table in recent weeks and sit ninth, but they have the chance to open up an eight-point gap on the bottom three at Dingwall.

Hammell said: “It’s a massive game. I don’t overly look at the table just now but it’s a massive game in terms of where we want to be in the campaign and the kind of season we want to have. It would put us back into where we want to be.”

Meanwhile, Motherwell have appointed former County manager Stuart Kettlewell as lead development/under-18s coach.

Hammell believes the appointment can help the younger players follow the success of the likes of Chris Cadden, Allan Campbell, Jake Hastie, David Turnbull and James Scott.

He said: “A big part of that, in our mind, was having a dedicated and focused coach (Stephen Craigan) who created a first-team mentality within that squad and that is something we hope Stuart can replicate for what we believe is a very talented group at the moment.”

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