Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell expects relegation-haunted Dundee United to come to Fir Park on Sunday with all guns blazing – but they have their own goal to meet.
United are bottom of the table, unable to catch 10th-placed Kilmarnock, but can overtake Ross County with a huge win, as they need to overcome a goal-difference that is eight goals worse off than their Dingwall rivals on the final day.
Kettlewell knows that means Jim Goodwin’s side must come to Fir Park looking to score at least five goals, but the hosts must win to secure a seventh-placed Premiership finish.
When asked if he believes United will arrive trying to win 5-0, Kettlewell said: “I do. We’ve had a fair amount of thought about it since we all played on Wednesday, and it probably becomes a little bit unpredictable, in terms of what Jim does with his team, but I think we just have to prepare as best we possibly can.
“The one constant that I can imagine, having played against Jim’s teams on more than one occasion, is that as long as there’s a chance, they’re going to be fighting, and they’re going to come here and try to win by a margin, so we have to brace ourselves for that.
“I believe Dundee United players and staff will feel they owe that to their supporters, so that’s what we have to expect.
“It’s just important that we try to finish off the season with as best a performance as we can.
“We’ll be going out the same as every single week, to try and win the game, but I think it does become a slightly different situation what we’ve faced in recent weeks.
“As much as teams have been fighting for their lives, it almost gets to the point where you need an exact number of goals and all that types of stuff.
“It can change the mentality a little bit – my job is to make sure it doesn’t change too much in our approach, in our players’ mind-set.”
United won 2-1 on their last visit to Fir Park in April. Kettlewell admits that result still stings, but is also looking for three points for their fans and for positioning.
He said: “I thought that we dominated the game, by and large, had by far the best chances in the game, so I always use those wee bits as motivation.
“It’s nothing personal against Dundee United, but you’re facing the same group of players, when you feel you probably could have and should have won the game.
“It’s one of only two defeats for us, both have been at home, the other one was against Rangers, so it gives us another wee opportunity to see if we can go and beat Dundee United and look after ourselves.
“We know they still have a major cause and a major fight – they’ll not be giving anything up – we accept that, we acknowledge it, but it’s more about us, about how we try and acquit ourselves, and I’m really keen for the players to put on another show.”
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