Stuart Kettlewell bemoans latest injury blows as Motherwell held by Ross County

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell faces further restrictions with getting attacking players on the park after being hit by two injury blows ahead of a goalless William Hill Premiership opener against Ross County.

Filip Stuparevic suffered a hamstring injury in training and Sam Nicholson appears to be facing a lengthy spell out with a knee injury.

With Callum Slattery and Harry Paton both out until late in the year, Kettlewell will step up efforts to get some more attacking midfield options.

Zach Robinson and Moses Ebiye both missed good opportunities and County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw pulled off an excellent stop from Ewan Wilson.

Kettlewell said: “There wasn’t a whole host of chances but the best chances certainly went to us. I felt we had one or two opportunities squandered as well, not even by working their goalkeeper but some of the areas that we got into. I thought we showed a decent degree of energy.

“All that said, without being negative, we know that we have to play better as well. We know we have to be more creative in the final third. We know we need to take more risks at times.”

On the injuries, Kettlewell said: “Sam Nicholson’s a real blow. After a scan it looks as if he’s going to be out for a sustained period of time.

“We’re going to have to be creative in team selections to make sure that we’ve got options in the front end of the park. And I’m actively looking to see if we can bring in some fresh blood as well to give us more options at the top end of the park.”

Kettlewell expanded on Nicholson’s issue.

“It’s a problem with his patella tendon,” he said. “We almost had him back on the pitch and then there was a setback. We’ve had the information back from the scan but the recovery process and the steps that need to be taken are still not 100 per cent clear.”

Kettlewell handed new signing Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Ross Callachan debuts off the bench, with the latter making his first appearance since damaging a cruciate ligament 16 months ago, his introduction delayed by a fresh injury in pre-season.

“I need to stress that they’re nowhere near up to full fitness,” Kettlewell said. “Ross Callachan’s only had a couple of training sessions post his injury.

“Apostolos, I threw him on because he’s got that eye for goal. That’s why we’ve brought him here. I think you can see he just needs time on the pitch.

“It’s been a complete whirlwind, not least having a baby, the travel, trying to get a work permit right up to the last minute to see if we can get him on the bench.”

Ross County manager Don Cowie was happy with the result.

“We spoke going into the season that we needed to be harder to beat away from home so I’m delighted to get a point and delighted to get a clean sheet,” he said.

“It’s something that we’ve not done enough historically, especially last season, and it was about trying to improve that aspect. It was a clear sign of everyone putting their body on the line to make sure we got that clean sheet.

“I thought it had the feel of the first game, it was a bit frantic, a bit erratic at times in terms of possession. But I’m seeing enough to know what we can work with and it’s really pleasing to come away from home and get the point.

“Can we play better? Absolutely. And we’re all on the same page and agree with that. But we’re a new group and it’s about trying to build on what we’ve done and trying to keep improving.”