Some players in the Fir Park dressing room are going on to their fourth manager - and the stakes are as a high as they ever have been in recent Motherwell memory.
The Steelmen are embroiled in a relegation dogfight at the bottom of the Premiership and the axe has now fallen on Steven Hammell after a miserable 3-1 Scottish Cup fifth round loss to Raith Rovers on Saturday. A club legend, the former left-back didn't appear for press duties in Kirkcaldy and soon it was announced he was on the way out of his beloved club, but there's no time for tales of woe.
There's much uncertainty around ML1 amid no wins in the league since Halloween, Alan Burrows moving on from his chief executive role this month, and now a managerial hunt. But who will be tasked with saving Motherwell's Premiership status? Record Sport looks at some candidates.
Stuart Kettlewell
We'll start with the interim boss, Stuart Kettlewell. He's only new to the club himself after being appointed to work within the youth ranks last year and will be in charge when St Mirren come to Fir Park on Wednesday. It's a route fans might not be too keen on, given this is the path tread with Hammell and ultimately he couldn't get a tune out of a squad that had been underperforming under previous boss Graham Alexander, despite securing European football last term. But this caretaker comes with a twist. Kettlewell had been a manager at Ross County alongside Steven Ferguson, winning the Championship in their first season and keeping them up the next. However, he lasted half a season when taking the reins himself in June 2020, sacked by Roy MacGregor with the club four points adrift at the bottom of the league. Some 'Well fans called for him to assist Hammell in the dugout but whether they want him there full-time as the main man is another thing.
Jim Goodwin
Would the Irishman fancy an immediate return to the dugout? His time as Aberdeen manager ended late last month in the aftermath of an embarrassing Scottish Cup exit to Darvel, sandwiched by 5-0 and 6-0 losses to Hearts and Hibs. It didn't work for the 41-year-old up north but he has shown his managerial qualities at Alloa and St Mirren. At the Wasps, he got them into the Championship and then kept them there with a part-time crew. That earned him a move to the Buddies, where famous wins over Celtic and Rangers were registered, on top of two cup semi-finals but narrowly missed out on a historic top six position. That said, he's got experience of working on a similar budget to what Motherwell have and if the worst case scenario plays out, he knows how to get the best out a squad in the second tier.
Jack Ross
Sticking on the theme of former Alloa and St Mirren managers, Ross is another who will no doubt be mentioned by fans and pundits alike when it comes to this vacant position. The former Hibs boss said this week that's he not fixated on a return to management. after time at Dundee United ended inside a few months off the back of a 9-0 cuffing by Celtic. But he's guided the Hibees to a third-placed finish and two cup finals in the not so distant past, and there's still possibly some at Easter Road wondering whether it was right to pull the trigger on him in December 2021. Ross had a tough start in management when Alloa were relegated but left them for St Mirren, well positioned for the success Goodwin went on to have.
A Championship title the beckoned for him in Paisley before coming a game away from getting Sunderland out of League One, but lost the play-off final and subsequently his job. He's divided opinions at bigger clubs but his time at St Mirren is perhaps a marker for what Motherwell could expect if Ross was to come in.
Grant McCann
There's been a pattern when it comes to Motherwell managers in modern history. Harri Kampman is the only non-British or Irish manager to have taken office at the club so it's hard to see that pattern changing in time of desperate need. It might be they opt for an experienced head with Scottish football knowledge, or they could go to the EFL again. And Grant McCann is one ambitious candidate they potentially could target. His first job at Peterborough had them at mid-table in League One as he learned the ropes but guiding Doncaster to the play-offs caught Hull City's attention.
Relegated to League One with the Tigers, he guided them back to the Championship but was sacked with the club 10 points clear of relegation danger after a takeover by a Turkish consortium. Relegation beckoned again when returning to Peterborough after becoming boss in February, and again faced a harsh sacking, five points off the play-offs. There's two relegations on his CV and whether he's willing to risk a third is a factor. But McCann has shown his skills in rebuilding clubs in the doldrums, somewhere Motherwell are at right now.
David Healy
This spot could have gone to Simo Valkari after he was in the running in August for this job, but the Fir Park favouritie was appointed at Latvian side FK Auda earlier this year. So our final option sees us look to Northern Ireland and Linfield's David Healy. He's been there since 2015 and has enjoyed plenty of silverware and European experience with the Belfast club. Healy was won Northern Ireland Manager of the Year four times, five NIFL Premiership trophies and a 63.29 win percentage. Those are impressive feats. But how well would they translate going from a situation where wins are expected, to a relegation battle approaching its home straight?
