Stuart Kettlewell expects Kevin van Veen to be nominated for PFA Player of the Year – but says Motherwell’s Premiership resurgence isn’t just about his star man.
The Steelmen have climbed the league from second-bottom of the pile to within two points of seventh-placed Livingston, and narrowly missed out on a top-six place before the split.
Since taking over from Steven Hammell in February, Kettlewell’s record is six wins, two draws and two defeats, which is an impressive run.
In that time they’ve taken the only league point from Celtic Park so far this season, and lost only to Rangers and Dundee United, clocking up wins over St Mirren, Hearts, Ross County, Hibs Livingston and Kilmarnock.
Van Veen has played a huge role in those wins, with 25 goals in a hugely impressive season, but Kettlewell says it’s not just down to the Dutch striker.
He said: “If I was a player I ‘d vote for him, but I’m not in control of any of that stuff.
“I think he’s had a brilliant season, not just his goal-scoring, but how he approaches it every single week.
“You have to pitch his personal achievements up there with most in the division, and it’s great to have that at Motherwell, it’s brilliant that we’ve got a striker that everyone’s talking about.
“But I would like people to speak about the team as well, and I would think Kevin would be the same.
“I think we are, at this minute in time, functioning really well as a team, as a squad, which seemed a long way away when I first took over.
“These guys keep knocking down barriers and doing well.”
Kettlewell joked that he might need to lock van Veen up this summer in order to keep him, but says being asked questions about him means they’re doing something right.
He said: “If Kevin’s not doing that, if other players aren’t doing that, then we never speak about it, and I embrace a situation where people do ask questions.
“In general, you want people to speak about your players, because you’re doing well, and I think we have to accept that.
“Nothing changes from where we are. I think you can see the players are all in it for the cause, and they’re approaching every game the way that they should do, whether there’s speculation or if there’s not.
“Those are the demands that I put on them. I don’t expect anyone to go out there thinking about what might happen in three, four or five weeks’ time.
“We keep focusing on each game.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
