27-05-2025
The turnover of managers at Scottish clubs is bewildering... but Kettlewell feels like a good fit for Killie
The employment prospects of a manager in the Scottish Premiership these days are only marginally better than that of a lamplighter.
In the season just gone, just half of the clubs ended with the same face in the dugout as they had back in August.
Three sides presently have a situation vacant. Anyone who gets beyond the two-year average might soon be due a gold watch for long service.
The bewildering rate of change is largely driven by systemic failure and the belief of trigger-happy chairmen that a new face at the helm is the panacea to every ill.
With such a low rate of success in the recruitment process, any club who find they have a good fit in the building would be well advised to count their blessings and hang on to them.
Motherwell's directors recognised as much when Stuart Kettlewell was at the helm. Even though there were some misgivings about the team's style of play, the same went for a large rump of the fanbase.
It was a particularly vocal minority which saw Kettlewell throw in the towel in January. He cited unacceptable levels of personal abuse as he tendered his resignation.
Michael Wimmer brought a more attacking style of play, but couldn't nail down the top-six finish which would have vindicated his appointment.
We'll never know where he might have led the club in the longer term. Having returned to Germany for family reasons, he's now the manager of lowly SSV Jahn Regensburg.
Motherwell's hierarchy, like their counterparts at Rangers and Dundee, are now preoccupied with identifying the right man to take them forward. The statistics suggest they won't all get it right.
In appointing Kettlewell as Derek McInnes' successor at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock have played a game of percentages.
In his time in South Lanarkshire, the 40-year-old boasted a better win percentage than Ian Baraclough, Graham Alexander and Mark McGhee. Only Stephen Robinson and Wimmer (who was only there for 12 games) fared better in the past decade.
Kettlewell knows the players he'll inherit and he knows the league inside out. Killie are a similarly sized club to his last post.
The job is not without its pressures. While the fan base is vocal and naturally demanding, there is no evidence that its expectations are unrealistic. As with the appointment of the experienced McInnes three years ago, it feels like a good fit.
Reinvigorated after a spell out of the game, Kettlewell also returns with a point to prove to those who drove him out of Fir Park. His first game there next season will be box office.
Perhaps Motherwell will strike it lucky with their new boss in the coming weeks, unearth the next Pep Guardiola and be setting the pace in the Premiership with a thrilling 'handbrake off' style of play when that intriguing reunion comes around. They can only dream.
The more level-headed among the claret-and-amber faithful would probably accept if their 41st straight season as a top-flight club passes without any fears of relegation.
Sitting fifth in the table when he felt he could go on no longer at the turn of the year, Kettlewell was certainly held to an exacting standard. Those who decried him must hope they don't live to regret it. He will make it his business to ensure they do.
