Stuart Kettlewell praised his team for playing without ego at Parkhead - and picking up a precious point.
The Motherwell boss was delighted with his side who became the first Scottish outfit to leave Celtic Park with anything this term. Kettlewell’s men earned a 1-1 draw against the champions-elect, thanks to Kevin van Veen’s second half equaliser. And the Fir Park gaffer believes it was fully deserved.
Kettlewell hailed their attitude since he took charge and the character they showed to deny Celtic a victory. In his last game as a manager at Parkhead, he masterminded a 2-0 victory for Ross County to knock the Hoops out of the League Cup. And Kettlewell said: “I’ve done not bad here over the last couple of games! But I can tell you it’s anything but easy. I’m just delighted for the players and how they bought into what we’ve asked them to do.
"It’s a different test when you come to a place like this against that level of opposition. Nobody has been able to take anything off Celtic here.
“I don’t want to celebrate a point but when you look at the nature of the game and the gulf in finances between the clubs, it speaks volumes for my players. They were outstanding to a man. I’ve just told them the biggest thing is not having an ego, I really believe that.
“For us to set ourselves up to play the way we did, if one player has an ego, the whole thing falls down and Celtic win comfortably. That’s what pleased me most. It’s easy to crumble here when you go a goal behind. You can go under at that stage, feel sorry for yourselves and think things aren’t working.
“But they were for us. Our game plan was to try and leave Kevin up there in a one-v-one situation. And our goal comes from that, it came up trumps for us. We know his quality but you need players to execute moments like that. We gave Kevin licence to be a bit detached from the rest of the team. I don’t normally do that but we know he carries a threat in those situations.”
That was van Veen’s 20th Premiership goal of the campaign and 24th in all competitions. He will no doubt attract interest from elsewhere this summer with just a year left on his Motherwell contract. But Kettlewell insists he’s going nowhere.
He said: “There is no talk of Kev going elsewhere. I have a brilliant relationship with him. He loves his teammates, they love him and it’s genuine.
“Kevin has found a home with us. The supporters love him and we want to have him here, so there is nothing to suggest that is going to change. I know throughout Kevin’s career there have been times when he hasn’t been the best version of himself.
“Now he has found a place where he is coming up with the goods and he values my feelings towards him. Also, the feelings of his teammates and the supporters. That is massive for him. When you’ve got that - the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
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