Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has voiced his strong support for Stuart Kettlewell following the Motherwell manager's surprise resignation on Monday, which came after he endured ongoing abuse from a section of the Fir Park fan base.
Kettlewell, who had been in the Motherwell dugout since February 2023 and left the club sitting fifth in the Scottish Premiership table, revealed that the relentless personal attacks had taken a significant toll, ultimately leading to his decision to step down.
Kettlewell's resignation has shone a light on a growing issue in Scottish football: the damaging impact of fan abuse on the mental and emotional well-being of those working within the game.
In a recent interview, Rodgers sympathised with Kettlewell, stressing that those in managerial and playing positions are human beings first, and are often subject to pressures that go unnoticed by supporters.
The Celtic gaffer did emphasise that he knows how community-based Motherwell is as a football club, and expressed his shock at the extent of the events to lead to Kettlewell making such a drastic decision off his own back.
"I'm really disappointed," Rodgers told Sky Sports. "If you look at the job that Stuart has done there; they sit fifth, they have been very competitive, he's got to the semi-final of a cup competition, and his teams were always well organised.
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"Stuart is a young coach who is making his way in the game and has done very well.
"I think people forget that players and managers, we are human beings as well. And okay, I think every supporter that pays the ticket to watch the games and support the club, they have the right to make a view on the performance.
"But it doesn't give you the right to say whatever you want. And if that has come to such an extent where a manager has had to leave his job because of that then it is a sad time in our society.
"This affects a manager who has young kids. Kids are going to school and having to put up with abuse because of the line of work that their father is in. And that is not acceptable.
"As I say that's a shame. But we as coaches and managers, we have to live, it's an amazing job that we are in, we are well rewarded, however, it doesn't give people the right to say whatever they want.
"So, for him to feel that strongly and for the abuse to be that bad.
"Motherwell is a great club, it's a fantastic club. In my time up here I've known the people there, the players there, the former players there. It's a real community club so it did surprise me somewhat that Stuart decided to move on at such a club."
