Liam Kelly has revealed the "toxicity levels" towards Motherwell from their own fans played a major part in Graham Alexander's exit from Fir Park.
Alexander left the club by mutual consent yesterday less than 24 hours after the Steelmen crashed to an embarrassing Europa Conference League exit to League of Ireland outfit Sligo Rovers, losing 3-0 on aggregate.
Furious fans directed abuse towards Alexander at the final whistle and the former Scotland international was even heckled live on radio when he received a foul-mouthed earful from one fan during a BBC Scotland interview.
But supporters have been calling for change for months with the Steelmen on a rotten run of just five wins in 23 competitive games in 2022.
And speaking ahead of Sunday's Premiership opener at St Mirren, Kelly explained the vitriol surrounding Alexander - who signed a new deal in January that was set to keep him at the club until 2025 - played a role in his departure.
The goalkeeper said: "I think that [the fan anger] is part of the reason the manager decided to move on.
"The manager felt the toxicity levels towards him weren't fair on us as players and him and his family.
"It wasn't beneficial to anyone.
"Having spoken to him last night, I don't think he will mind me sharing that.
"But when they [Sligo] score so early and the mood is so negative, we need the supporters to pull us, to guide us through the game.
"In return, we need to give them something to shout about and be happy about.
"The timing of the goals in the games, that was the most hurtful and impactful thing in the games.
"The time they scored brought the negative noise and then gave us such an uphill task.
"It wasn't a nice time, but nothing can be down about the past and we need to move forward."
He added: "I spoke to him last night. He's okay. He's obviously disappointed that he felt this was the time to move on.
"That man has got so much experience and played at a level all of us in the changing room could only dream of.
"So the fact it was right for him, the group and his family then we aren't going to question that.
"He was in a decent enough mood whilst being upset and disappointed because he had a great relationship with so many players.
"But he knows the focus for us now is Sunday."
Despite their recent run, Kelly believes Alexander has improved the Steelmen overall.
When the 50-year-old replaced Stephen Robinson - who has been linked with a return to the hot-seat - in January 2021, Motherwell were bottom of the Premiership.
But he turned things around to guide them to safety that season and then a fifth place finish last term, earning their short-lived stint in Europe.
"The long term picture of how the manager did has been lost and a bit fragmented due to how poor our form has been in the calendar year," said Kelly.
"We are not delusional. Three league wins since January and we are going into August on Monday isn't acceptable.
"But if you look at it as a whole, we were joint bottom when the manager came in and we were playing a European game and not a Championship game the other night.
"The Championship was a very realistic possibility when the manager first walked in the door.
"As a collective performance, teh manager has definitely improved us as a team.
"That cannot be argued with. That's just a fact."
Academy coaches Stevie Hammell and Brian Kerr will now take the team for the trip to Paisley this weekend and Kelly insists there's plenty in the squad capable of getting their season off to a winning start.
He said: "I'd be lying if I said it was ideal preparation, but it is what it is.
"This is the reality and the situation we are in. We need to deal with it.
"It doesn't change the qualities in that changing room - we still believe we can win the game.
"We wish we'd done better for the manager, he deserved better from the players, but the situation is happening in front of our eyes so there's no point crying about it, we've got a game to go and win.
"That's the least our fans deserve after what we gave them on Thursday."
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