With a victory confirming our place in the next round of the Viaplay Cup, Liam Kelly expressed how vital it was to finish on a high.
Motherwell are currently perched at the top of Group G on eight points, with victory against East Fife securing the steelmen’s place in the last 16, and the experienced stopper understood the task that lays ahead.
“We need to win to top the group, that’s the plan,” said Kelly.
“[A cup run] is the objective, but one stage at a time. It’s the group stage first for us, we are in a good position. We thought before the group started that if we get 11 or 12 points out of 12 then that’s ideal and where we want to be.
“We take the same mindset, same approach and try to finish top of the group and take that momentum into the following week against Dundee. So, we are on track for that and looking to get that come Saturday.”
Motherwell have only suffered two defeats in six months, with Stuart Kettlewell at the helm, and Kelly outlined how settled the squad have been heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
“It definitely feels more settled this year, the manager has cemented that since he came in and done really well, and he’ll be the man to take us forward.
“We are settled, we are calm, we are trying to get better and ultimately, we have a really difficult game against East Fife on Saturday who are playing really well at the moment, and doing really well in the group.
“So, same as always for us, one game at a time, try and get the right result and right performance and take it from there and build it into the season.
With the forthcoming Premiership season approaching, Kelly is determined to take a winning mentality into the league campaign.
“We are in a good place, the manager has brought in a lot of momentum and put in his ideas and they’ve proven that they’ve worked since he’s come in, as we’ve done really well.
“We just have to try and keep that going, try to keep the principles he has put in place for us, but there’s loads that we can get better at and that’s the exciting part for us as a group.
“I think if we thought we were the finished article then there would be nothing to improve on, so we know there’s plenty to improve on.”
It hasn’t been difficult for the Scotland international to stay sharp following the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, with international matches coinciding with the summer break, but Kelly isn’t looking to rest.
“I’ve had no real break, just a few days, but I love football and I don’t really want a break.
“I’ll get a break when I’ve finished, so I’ll be in here trying to train as much as I can and play as many games as I can. I love that.”
“Scotland is at the end of a process of doing well for your club, so same process for me all the time. Train really well for Motherwell which will get me in the Motherwell team, once I’m in the Motherwell team try to play really well which will try to get me in Steve Clarke’s thoughts.