Motherwell look set to be without a manager for the Scottish Premiership encounter with Celtic on Sunday afternoon at Fir Park…

Stuart Kettlewell shockingly resigned on Monday evening after citing abuse from the Fir Park support as the reason for his departure. Kettlewell, who despite leading Motherwell to fifth place in the Scottish Premiership league table and only six points off Dundee United in third claimed that personal slurs directed towards him at games reduced his family to tears and forced them away from matches.
Interim manager Stephen Frail is expected to take charge
Kettlewell’s assistant and now interim manager Stephen Frail is expected to take charge for when Brendan Rodgers’ league leaders travel to Lanarkshire this weekend.

Former Celtic captain Scott Brown has been linked with the Steelmen
Former Celtic captain Scott Brown has been linked with the Steelmen following the notable work he has overseen at Ayr United this season. Ayr currently sit two points off league leaders Falkirk in the Scottish Championship, and after knocking back the St Johnstone job in September, the chance of becoming Motherwell manager may be too tough to turn down for the Hoops icon.
Neil Lennon is another name that has been touted
Meanwhile, Neil Lennon is another name that has been touted for the Fir Park hotseat. Lennon’s last three managerial gigs at Celtic, Omonia Nicosia in Cyrpus and then most recently during his short-spell in Romania with Rapid Bucharest have all ended badly, and so a return to Scottish football may come of interest to the 53 year-old.

The Scottish Champions have already faced Motherwell twice in the league this season. A 3-0 victory in November at Fir Park courtesy of strikes from Luke McCowan, Alistair Johnston and Adam Idah coupled with a comprehensive 4-0 win on Boxing Day at Paradise means Celtic are aiming for a hat-trick of three points over the Steelmen.
Celtic’s Champions League exploits
Last night Celtic played Aston Villa at Villa Park in the final outing in the elongated 36-team Champions League Phase. Falling behind to two early goals from the Premier League side Celtic fought back brilliantly to level the score at the internal with Adam Idah scoring twice.

However Villa ended up winning 4-2 to secure their place in the top eight, thus avoiding the play-offs. That’s where Celtic find themselves and the Hoops will know their opponents for the knockout playoffs in Friday’s draw. It’s between Bayern Munich or Real Madrid but for Brendan Rodgers the full focus will be on Motherwell.
Conor Spence
Celtic in the Thirties

By popular demand, both volumes of Celtic in the Thirties are now available on Amazon Kindle, with the links to order below. Signed copies of both volumes are available on hardback from Celtic Star Books and if you would like author Matt Corr to add a special dedication to your copies please let us know. Order hardback copies HERE or for Amazon Kindle click on the links below…

