After finishing in the bottom half of the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership table, Motherwell needed to start the 2023–24 season on a positive note. They experienced a managerial change in the middle of last season, and the same manager has given them an unbeaten start to the campaign.
Stuart Kettlewell took charge of the club and has transformed it into a winning team. Only two teams are unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership in 2023–24: Celtic and Motherwell. Let’s take a look at how the manager has transformed his team and led them to an unbeaten start.
Scoring regular goals
Motherwell have been positive in the attack and have been able to beat the opposition goalkeeper. The team likes to progress down the right flank, and this can be observed by looking at the above pass map.
Kettlewell’s men haven’t been at their best when it comes to passing the ball. Their accuracy rate is a bit low at 75.6%. The progressive pass accuracy is around 73.6%. With most of the balls coming into the box from the right side, the manager will look to make a few changes and allow the left-sided players to get more involved in the game.
The team attempts around 10 shots per match and the accuracy rate is nearly 40%. Motherwell have even missed a penalty. One thing that can be noticed is that the players have failed to take chances from inside the six-yard box. All six goals have been scored from around the penalty spot.
Defensive brilliance
Motherwell are not the best defensive team in the division, but their performances have produced the results.
The team conceded three goals in the first three games and then kept their first clean sheet of the season against Hearts. The defence has won 65% of the defensive duels and 53% of the aerial duels.
Motherwell have allowed the opposition to take 12.25 shots per match. Only seven were on target and four were saved by the goalkeeper.
One of the reasons why Motherwell have faced few shots on target is their ability to close down the opposition players. The team has blocked half of the shots attempted by the opposition. Most of these blocks have been made on the edge of the penalty box. The defensive work of the players is the primary reason why Motherwell are sitting second in the league table.
Motherwell will face Rangers and Celtic in gameweek six and seven. This will be their biggest test and Stuart Kettlewell’s men will look to display their best game.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
