Stuart Kettlewell says Motherwell rebuild 'rivals' Rangers own ahead of Hampden showdown

Stuart Kettlewell reckons he has faced a similar summer rebuild at Motherwell as Philippe Clement has at Rangers.

Recently, the Rangers manager has asked for patience from the Gers faithful and has pointed out how he has reduced the average age and wage of the squad over the summer. Speaking in August of this year, the Belgian had claimed he was “200 per cent sure we are going to be much better in October, November and December and the months after”.

However, the pressure has only intensified on the boss with fans not impressed with what they're seeing on the pitch after losing their last two away games in the Scottish Premiership, with a mammoth League Cup semi-final against Kettlewell's side on Sunday.

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Rangers sit just three points above Motherwell — and a staggering nine back from today's semi-finalists Aberdeen and Celtic — ahead of their Premier Sports Cup semi-final. Kettlewell introduced 13 new players into his squad this season having cut his wage bill the previous campaign.

“You talk about two football clubs that have rebuilt,” he said. “I know that’s been mentioned a lot with Rangers about the number of players that went out and the number of players that have come in. I think we can rival that.

“And the big difference comes that Rangers spend millions on players and we look for free agents and we look into the loan market.

“That’s not mind games from me at all. That’s just the harsh reality of it.

“But that doesn’t mean to say that we don’t believe in ourselves and that we don’t believe that we can go there and cause some sort of upset.

“And again, contrary to what a lot of people think from what I’m led to believe, for Motherwell to try and progress in this competition I believe would be a huge upset.

“I think Rangers would be massive favourites by the size of the football club and the investment, they would be huge favourites to beat Motherwell. But we don’t tell ourselves that, we don’t think along those terms.

“We want to try and show our best version on Sunday and see where that takes us.”

Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday described his former team’s performance against St Mirren last week as “slow and uninspired” but his manager is not viewing Rangers as vulnerable.

“I generally don’t think about anything like that at all,” he said. “It’s not my place to think about that.

“If I start doing that, I believe that’s me scrutinising other football clubs, that’s me scrutinising other managers and other players. I’ve got way too much respect for Rangers as a football club and the manager and the group of players there to start doing that.

“My focus needs to be on trying to get the best out of my players.

“I don’t sit here in front of you trying to tell you or show you that I’m the most humble guy in the world, but that’s genuinely what I try to be as much as I possibly can.

“Show everybody respect, including my own players, my own football club. I generally believe that if you do that and you work hard, then you can get success.

“That’s how I approach everything, as opposed to mudslinging and trying to pass comment on other situations.”