Hampden return is our carrot for Killie cup clash, says Motherwell boss

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Stuart Kettlewell says a return to Hampden is the carrot dangling in front of Motherwell as they host Kilmarnock in the Premier Sports Cup second round on Sunday.The sides will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals on Sunday, after Killie take on Tromso in the Europa Conference League third qualifying round second leg on Thursday.But Kettlewell says he will need to shuffle his pack to cope with a huge injury list pushing double figures, which new striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was added to on Saturday during their 2-1 Hampden Park defeat to Rangers with a thigh knock.Kettlewell said: “What we need is resilience from the rest of the group.“We are what we are, it’s not going to change between now and Sunday against Kilmarnock, so we need to make sure we wrap them in cotton wool and we’re in the best place possible to try and acquit ourselves well in the cup game.“Without ever getting carried away with yourself, the carrot that’s dangled is to come back to a place like this and maybe play another game of football over the course of a season.“Cup competitions are important to this club.“I watched Kilmarnock [in their first leg against Tromso], we know we’re playing against one of the best sides in the country.“I thought they acquitted themselves really well in Europe, and it’s going to be a different type of game, a different environment.“But we have to make sure that group I’ve been speaking to post-match are fit and available, and that I have as many options as I can possibly have.“We have to try and come up with a plan and a way of playing that we think gives us a chance of getting through to the next round.”Kettlewell will attempt to bolster his squad before the end of the August transfer window, however.He