Motherwell’s Liam Kelly says he’s loving life in Lanarkshire as he reflects on a year at Fir Park.
The goalkeeper was brought on loan to the Steelmen 12 months ago from QPR and was a key reason behind ‘Well beating the Premiership drop last term.
After leaving London to return to Motherwell on a permanent basis, Kelly has grown into a leadership role as a push for European football commences.
Kelly’s hope is for 2022 to be just as good as 2021. He said: “I’m closing in on a year at Motherwell and it’s been a great year. It’s been really enjoyable. I’ve done really well.
“I’ve loved my time here and I am really grateful that the club brought me back in the summer. I’m grateful for the initial loan that brought me here.
“There’s been a lot of good performances and a lot of good results for the team as a collective. So I’ve enjoyed a great calendar year here. I am loving it and if 2022 is anything like 2021, then I am sure it will be alright.”
Kelly’s year has been fruitful since his initial loan move. His performances were so good in just six months that he scooped a Player of the Year award last season for his form and returned to Fir Park on a three-year deal in the summer, a transfer coup for manager Graham Alexander.
He’s since been named vice-captain and has been called back into Scotland squad by head coach Steve Clarke.
Kelly explained: “I feel as if I am playing ok at the moment. If I can go through games unnoticed then I have really done my job properly. The boys have a really good habit of making me not do much in games. I’ve been quiet in a lot of games recently.
“There’s times where you are needed to make saves and that’s why you have a goalkeeper in football. I know that and I am aware of that, so long may it continue in front of me.”
The Steelmen are fourth as the winter break continues and are next back in league action against Ross County on January 18.
Alexander’s side have won their last four home games on the spin, most recently a 2-1 win over Kelly’s former side Livingston.
He believes Motherwell have shown their winning capabilities but 3-0 and 6-1 losses to Dundee and Rangers prove that standards can’t be dropped.
Kelly added: “I think we do have a lot of confidence at the moment. We understand what we need to do to get results and there’s a way of playing that’s got us results.
“We’ve had good examples against Dundee and Rangers on what happens if we don’t do the things properly - we get beat heavily. We have a good idea of what our best looks like now and we just need to try and do that every week.”
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