Stuart Kettlewell heaped praise on Mika Biereth after he claimed a goal and assist in his Motherwell debut.
The Arsenal loanee teed up Connor Wilkinson for the opener then delivered an eventual winner himself in Sunday’s 2-1 home victory over Hibs. Biereth replaced Theo Bair in the second-half and made an instant impact in what had been an otherwise dull affair.
And Motherwell manager Kettlewell admitted he couldn’t be happier with the 20-year-old’s impact.
“He was excellent when he came on,” the Motherwell manager said. “We know he’s got quality.
“He’s still a young lad in the development phase in his career but coming from a club like Arsenal, we know he’s a good player and previously playing in Holland, has been a factor in us thinking he can play here.
“We are delighted with the impact. You don’t ever know it is going to be like that from the first off, but we’ve seen in training he looks like a guy who can excel at this level, not just with his goalscoring but his workrate and energy. There’s a lot to like about him.”
Adam Le Fondre pulled a goal back with a late penalty, denying Kettlewell the clean sheet he craved.
“The only slight negative was that I thought we were due a clean sheet today.
“We weren’t under a great deal of threat. Our goalkeeper hasn’t made a save in the game and you don’t expect to concede a goal, but that’s me talking about a negative.
“I thought we were good, well-disciplined and organised. We started to carry a greater threat in the second 45, so all in all a pleasing day for us.
“But we are not resting on our laurels. We have a lot more to give.
“Two or three of the strikers haven’t trained this week and we pitched them in. the more work we can get done with them on the pitch, the sharper they will become and the greater threat we will have at the top end of the pitch.”
