Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell has pointed the finger of blame fully at his players after losing to Hearts on Thursday afternoon.
Hearts were dominant as they secured a 1-0 Tynecastle victory over the Steelmen, who are now slipping down the Premiership table having not won in four games.
The Jambos enjoyed 66 percent of the possession and had six shots on target. And Kettlewell has alluded to the fact that the 1-0 scoreline wasn’t a fair representation of the game.
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Kettlewell questions Motherwell players’ effort
Kettlewell told the BBC after the clash: “For me, 1-0 flattered us. I’ve just asked (the players) why that was the case.
“We come to another fantastic venue with a great atmosphere, you’re sitting in a decent spot in the league and our form has been relatively good.
“I’ll always take ownership for team selection and style of play. But what the players give me every week is good energy and a basic application to the cause, which we need at Motherwell to bridge the gap we have financially to the vast majority of other teams.
“We do that time and again but for some reason we didn’t today. We’ve asked the group to take responsibility for it because we go again in a couple of days.
“There’s no time to rest and settle, we need to take ownership for a really poor performance today.”
Motherwell defeat comes after Lennon Miller blow
Before the encounter in Gorgie, Kettlewell spoke to the BBC to confirm that influential midfielder Lennon Miller will be out injured for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury.
Motherwell have been struggling as it is, so to lose Miller for such a length of time is a big concern for Kettlewell moving forward.
The Motherwell boss said: “He’s going to be longer than a month. He’s got a hairline fracture in his ankle which is going to keep him out for an extended period of time.
“He’s done this twice now. With Lennon being Lennon he tried to stay on. Last season he had a fracture in his patella but tried to finish the game.
“But in getting that yellow card it looks like he’s sustained a pretty significant injury which is going to keep him out somewhere around six to eight weeks.”