S tuartKettlewell accepts that Motherwell will face a difficult test against Celtic on Saturday, but he believes they should welcome it.
The Fir Park manager feels the Steelmen have nothing to fear fromns’ side’s arrival, and hopes that if they continue their good run, Motherwell will take some of their chances.
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Motherwell have lost 1-0 toRangers and St Mirren in their previous two games, but have received a lot of praise for their efforts.
“I think we’re in a good position going into the game against Celtic,” he stated.
“In terms of our performance, what we’d like to do is try to get a small reward for our efforts.”
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“As difficult as that will be on Saturday, we relish the challenge and eagerly await it.”
“I keep talking about having no fear and pitting your wits against the absolute best, and Celtic have proven over the last few seasons that they are the best in this country, with the titles they’ve won and the level of consistency they’ve shown.”
“I think if we can join in that game and be there towards the dying embers again, it will only make us better.”
“I think we’re going to face a team that’s really starting to click into gear,” Kettlewell added. “They have some new faces and a new manager, but he obviously knows what the club is all about and what it’s like to taste success.”
I expect them to be tremendously revved up, to bring a significant danger and to come here and dominate the ball, to play the way they typically do.
“That presents a massive challenge, but it’s one we have to relish given how we’ve played in the last few weeks.”
“But I’ll remind the players that we don’t get to come here on Saturday and expect to play well and be in a game.”
“We’re going to have to suffer at times, make sure we handle the ball as well as we have done in the last couple of weeks.”
Rangers controlled possession in their 1-0 Ibrox victory on Sunday, but Kettlewell believes Motherwell did a fantastic job with the ball at times.
He hopes for more of the same in the midday kick-off, but with a better final result.
“Some of our ball possession on Sunday was really intelligent, got us into some really good areas, and I think it posed a lot of problems for them,” he remarked.
“We’ll have to try to be brave enough on the ball to get ourselves into the final third and create opportunities once more.”
“The added pressure now falls on us in the final third to see if we can capitalise on those opportunities when they arise.”
“However, having the big teams come here is a good opportunity.”
“We’re back on a ‘bowling green’ surface, and I hope we can trust ourselves to do what we’ve done in the last few weeks.”
