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Stuart Kettlewell at Motherwell abuse slammed as boss chief takes aim at 'empty vessels' and escalating problem

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell admits his side weren't good enough as they crashed out of the cup
-Credit:SNS Group


Billy Brown has slammed the “empty vessels” whose abuse forced Stuart Kettlewell’s Motherwell exit this week as an “absolute disgrace”.

The League Managers Association chairman fears the levels of vitriol directed at bosses from the stands throughout the game in Scotland is reaching unacceptable levels. And former Hearts and Hibs assistant Brown has appealed to individual clubs - with the help of well-meaning supporters - to weed out the toxic minority who he says are overstepping the mark at grounds across the country.

Kettlewell’s shock decision to resign on Monday comes with the Steelmen sitting fifth in the Premiership and having reached the semi final of the League Cup back in November. With a mounting injury list that includes star man Lennon Miller, Motherwell have lost back to back games away to the Premiership’s bottom club St Johnstone which saw them crash out of the Scottish Cup.

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Those results saw Kettlewell targeted by the Well boo boys in successive weeks. And CEO Brian Caldwell revealed in a statement confirming they’d “very reluctantly” accepted his resignation that the abuse had began to affect the 40-year-old’s family to the point they didn’t wish to attend games.

That, Brown insists, is simply not acceptable. The 74-year-old began his playing career with the Fir Park club - which is fan-owned - and spent three years there in the 1970s. And speaking to Record Sport he said: “What has happened with Stuart Kettlewell is an absolute disgrace. We've got a hard-working man there that's done well at Motherwell.

“When he went in there two years ago, there was a chance of relegation and he just missed the top six. They’re in the top six now, ahead of Hearts and Hibs at the moment. And for him to have to pack in because supporters are shouting abuse at him, it's just not right.

“But once it affects your family, he probably didn't have an option. I’m not saying they were shouting at his family, but obviously they're shouting at him and his family is there. It's just not right.

“Motherwell are a good football club with really good supporters but obviously the empty vessels are starting to make the most noise again. It'll just be a small minority, but that's what it takes and it's not right.

“Fans also need to realise Stuart’s been instrumental in bringing through the likes of Lennon Miller and getting him in the team. Motherwell will benefit big time because he's going to go eventually for a very good price. The abuse is just not right. It has to be nipped in the bud.”

Billy Brown at his Musselburgh home
Billy Brown at his Musselburgh home

Kettlewell's decision comes two-and-a-half years after former Well boss Graham Alexander also stood down from his position at Fir Park citing personal abuse from supporters. Brown spent almost 30 years in the dug out, mainly alongside trusted pal Jim Jefferies, with three stints at Hearts as well as spells with Bradford City, Kilmarnock, Hibs, Falkirk and Berwick Rangers. He also had short spells as a manager in his own right at East Fife and Cowdenbeath. But Brown reckons he never experienced abuse like he hears at grounds now.

And he reckons the clubs themselves have to get a grip of the culprits. He said: “It's certainly got worse. There's no doubt about it. Luckily, Jim and I, the places that we were, we did alright. We weren't getting too much abuse. I didn't hear the abuse that's going around football grounds now.

"There's no doubt that things have deteriorated. I do think that it's younger supporters that seem to be involved. I think it has to be individual clubs that clamp down on it. They'll need the good supporters to name and shame people. Because that with Stuart Kettlewell, when it starts bothering your family like that, that's not right.”

Brown hopes Kettlewell, who had two years as manager at Ross County after retiring, hasn’t been put off the dug out for good. He said: “I’m sure we will see him back. You can’t say he's done poorly. He's done well there. This is his job. I really feel for him in this circumstance. It's not as if they're languishing at the bottom of the league or anything.”