Latest news with #StuartKettlewell
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kilmarnock boss wary of 'difficult' Kelty Hearts challenge ahead of Premier Sports Cup clash
Stuart Kettlewell heaped praise on the Fife club and boss Tam O'Ware as the Killie boss eyes up a third successive win Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell insists tonight's visit to League One outfit Kelty Hearts will be a 'difficult' task and says he has plenty of praise for the Fife club and gaffer Tam O'Ware. Killie will be looking to take a big step towards sealing their place in the knockout stages of the Premier Sports Cup by making it three wins from three when they travel to New Central Park as he continues towards preparing for the start of the Premiership campaign. He said: 'They've obviously brought in quite a lot of fresh blood and some younger players with good energy to the team, so it'll be a difficult task for us on Tuesday. 'We just want that work ethic, that buy-in from players, that's the simple parts of it. 'Trying to keep as many players fit as you possibly can, try and get through all your markers, as many minutes into players as you possibly can, try and get them battle-hardened and get them ready for the rigours of a season. 'There's a lot of aspects that we look at behind the scene that you still try to chip away at to make sure that you get it to kind of the way you're working. 'You're always wanting to try and get to that best practise throughout the course of the week, not just on the pitch. I think we've been making small steps and making decent ground in that sense, but as always, everything's a work in progress. 'We're trying to strive for perfection, I think that's why we're all in it.' Kettlewell will be lining up against one of the youngest managers in the SPFL in O'Ware - something the Killie boss can sympathise with from his earlier days in the hotseat at Ross County. He said: 'I grew a beard, trying to make myself look a wee bit older but I've still got it to this day. 'Silly little things like that, but you always believe in what you do, you always believe in how you handle yourself. 'You need to not have this ego because I'm nowhere near the finished article with eight or so years of experience and a lot of games under my belt. 'We've all got ideas, we've all got a way that we think we want to go about the job, but you learn so much from different scenarios. 'I briefly spoke to Tam before the game and he'd said that there's not enough hours in the day in the part-time job. 'I think he's got a point, I really do. I've always said that being a manager in part-time football, the role's still the same, you've still got to get through the same markers, you've still got to prepare your team. 'I always tip my cap because I think it's a hard job at senior level and at full-time with the amount of hours that I and my staff put into it. But I think when you twist that into part-time football, you're looking for the same success, you're looking for the same achievements, but you're trying to do it with a lot less hours. 'That'll be a great experience for Tam, I've no doubt about it.'
STV News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- STV News
Stephen O'Donnell embracing new Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou's style
Motherwell defender Stephen O'Donnell is enjoying the challenge of learning fresh demands under the club's third manager of 2025. After two years of relative stability under Stuart Kettlewell, Motherwell employed their second foreign manager this year when they appointed Jens Berthel Askou to replace German Michael Wimmer. The Dane has a similar attacking philosophy to his predecessor in terms of pressing high up the park but his desire to play the ball out from the back has been more pronounced. Askou faces a big test on Tuesday when Motherwell host Morton in the Premier Sports Cup needing victory to guarantee progression to the second round. On adapting to the new boss, O'Donnell said: 'We found it with the old manager when he came in. It was a different kind of style, different ideas. And the gaffer has probably amplified that a wee bit more. 'I find it exciting, interesting, you're learning different ideas and different ways in which people think of the game. You're always trying to learn. And I think that's something I'm capable of doing. I'm excited to continue to learn. 'I've been enjoying it, trying to work on different things. The most important thing is that we are seeing progression on the pitch and in the style, and hopefully getting the wins that make that progression easier.' Elsewhere, Falkirk take on Queen's Park at home while Kilmarnock bid to cement their place at the top of Group H when they travel to Fife to take on Kelty Hearts. Dundee head coach Steven Pressley takes his team to Bonnyrigg Rose as he bids to secure his first win, although progression is already beyond his team. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
O'Donnell embracing 'exciting & interesting' Askou approach
Stephen O'Donnell is enjoying the challenge of learning fresh "exciting and interesting" demands under Motherwell's third manager of the year. After two years of relative stability under Stuart Kettlewell - who departed in January - Motherwell appointed their second manager of 2025 when Jens Berthel Askou replaced Michael Wimmer. The Dane has a similar attacking philosophy to his predecessor but his desire to play the ball out from the back has been more noticeable. Askou faces a big test on Tuesday when Motherwell host Greenock Morton in the Premier Sports Cup needing victory to guarantee progression to the second round. On adapting to the new boss, O'Donnell said: "We found it with the old manager when he came in. It was a different kind of style, different ideas and the gaffer has probably amplified that a wee bit more. "I find it exciting and interesting. You're learning different ideas and different ways in which people think of the game. You're always trying to learn and I think that's something I'm capable of doing. I'm excited to continue to learn. "I've been enjoying it, trying to work on different things. The most important thing is that we are seeing progression on the pitch and in the style, and hopefully getting the wins that make that progression easier."
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell hails debut keeper after fine display in win over Livingston
The Polish stopper made a number of decent saves in the 1-0 victory Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell heaped praise on debut keeper Max Stryjek after he pulled off a string of fine saves in their 1-0 win over Livingston last night. The victory, against the stopper's former team, puts the Rugby Park side in control of Group H with two wins from two. Mo Sylla's first half own goal decided the game but the Polish keeper impressed in denying Stevie May twice and repelling Robbie Muirhead on a number of occasions. Kettlewell said: 'You just see his experience, don't you? He's some character, but he just wants to play football. He wants to get back out on the pitch. He's been a guy for a number of years now that's been active in the game, playing, being involved, under pressure, doing well. 'So I think you can kind of see that in his performance. He's been really vibrant about the place and delighted that he performed as well as he did.' It was far from a vintage display from Kilmarnock, but Kettlewell insisted he's not going to be overly negative at this stage of the season. He added: 'I need to rein myself in for being negative, because I absolutely think we can play much better than what we did. I think we'll have to over the course of the season. 'What the players showed us was a bit of grit, a bit of determination, to make sure they dragged themselves across the line to get the three points.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Delighted' to win but Kettlewell wants improvements
Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell says his side must improve despite securing a narrow League Cup win over Livingston on own-goal from Mo Sylla on 31 minutes was the difference between the teams, but Livingston could have taken something back to West Lothian were it not for several outstanding saves from Killie goalkeeper Max has now won both of his competitive outings as Kilmarnock boss, but he said they conceded too many chances and were "slack" in possession. "That's what we came here for," Kettlewell told BBC Scotland. "We're trying to top the group."It's about us trying to become better and I think we can play a lot better. We gave up too many opportunities and at times we were very slack on the ball."We had our goalie to thank with one or two stops and we need to test them a wee bit more. That all sounds negative - I'm delighted with the win and another clean sheet."Killie captain Brad Lyons came off with an injury in the second half, but Kettlewell downplayed any fears over the Northern Irishman's fitness."I'm hoping it's nothing too serious. He definitely tightened up."
