If it was goals you were after then Motherwell games were the place to be last season – but it wasn’t all right for Kettlewell.

Stuart Kettlewell takes quiet satisfaction from Motherwell finishing as the Premiership’s top scorers outside the Old Firm last season. But the Fir Park boss also knows it counts for nothing if his side are chucking them in at the other end.

Well rattled in 56 goals across the 38 league games – two more than third placed Hearts – with red hot Theo Bair netting 15 of those. But having finished with a minus three goal difference, Kettlewell knows where the biggest fix is required ahead of the new campaign. The Steelmen kept just three clean sheets in 38 fixtures and were involved in just one goalless draw. It might add up to thrills and spills. But Kettlewell is keen to keep it tight.

He said: “I take a lot of satisfaction from being Premiership top scorers outside the top two. But football works in a circle where it’s not just about the goals you score, it’s about the ones you concede as well. I talk about the marginal gains that will help us become a better team and improve our league position and help with cup runs. I’m not labelling blame but what we have to do is not concede as many as we have.

“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to rectify that and make sure when we are dominating games that counter attacks don’t hurt us, set plays don’t hurt us. Anyone with a keen eye will see a number of times we have changed our set-up from set-plays to try to find a solution where it’s not an issue.

“If you look at the goals we have conceded from corners, free kicks, second phase long throws then it’s not been good enough. All these things come into the mix, how do we score as many goals next season, there has to be a formula for that as well. But the very foundation is built on what you do at the back end of the pitch.”

Well had to contend with a minor defensive injury crisis at times last season with Paul McGinn, Dan Casey, Shane Blaney and Calum Butcher all spending significant spells sidelined. Kettlewell said: “We’ve had a situation where there’s been a lot of injuries across the backline and we’ve been chopping and changing at times. We’ve had to change our wing backs at times.

“The vision for me is getting a settled backline to try and give us a bit of a foundation. Then from there it’s a balancing act to make sure we don’t concede but that we score enough as well. I’ve seen us going all out to stop conceding goals and then we don’t carry a threat and vice versa.”

Meanwhile, Stephen O’Donnell has revealed his delight at extending his love affair with Motherwell after signing a new two-year contract last night. The 32-year-old right back has been a stalwart for Kettlewell and made 42 appearances last season, taking his career tally to over 500 games.