Stuart Kettlewell wants more consistency from his Motherwell side this season as they look to recreate the good run they enjoyed at the start of last year.
The Steelmen won three of their first four games and sat in second place in the Premiership, but failed to win again until 30 December.
“We started the league campaign excellently, had a poor run in the middle, and then some good form after the turn of the year,” Kettlewell told Sky Sports.
“For us, it’s about finding that level of consistency. Anyone who does that in this league has an opportunity to play in the top half of the split come the end of the season.
“If you concentrate on that level of consistency, naturally the league position starts to take care of itself.
“We’ve proved we can compete with every single team in this league – we’ve taken points off everybody in my time – but it’s about finding a consistency, not having big high moments with big fall offs.”
The manager also admitted that avoiding relegation is still the primary aim for Motherwell, and added that that the squad’s turnover has been a “challenge”.
“Every club wants to be a part of this division moving forward,” Kettlewell said. “Some may argue that’s not a lofty height of ambition, but that’s where your starting point always has to be.
“When you’re a club that sits at the bottom end of the finances in this division, that always has to be the first port of call. But I absolutely do believe we’ve got the capabilities – as a football club and as a playing staff – to be slightly more consistent.
“There is a real challenge. I spoke to our supporters on Monday and said ‘in an ideal world, all you want to do is bring one or two in’ and have that consistent group. But we all know what it’s like here at Motherwell.
“We’ve had a top-five transfer in our club’s history in Theo Bair, and within that you lose Liam Kelly and Blair Spittal, really influential players, and some loan signings. There’s a few more changes than what we want but it should bring excitement.”
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