Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell hailed Marvin Kaleta’s development after the 20-year-old shone in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St Johnstone.
The right-back – on loan from Premier League side Wolves – set up Tawanda Maswanhise’s opening goal and delivered several more testing crosses on his first ever 90-minute senior appearance.
“We got him 90 minutes, that was brilliant,” Kettlewell said. “There’s been a bit of a joke with some of the senior guys and we’ve all had it as young players, he’s been cramping up a little bit.
“This is only his fourth senior [start], all in the space of two weeks.
“So it’s a brilliant landmark for him to perform that way and to get through the 90 minutes and I genuinely believe that he’ll just grow from strength to strength.”
Kettlewell referenced a statistic that Motherwell have given significantly more minutes to Scottish under-21s than any other Premiership club this season, and he is understandably proud of the work done developing young homegrown talent.
“We’re by far ahead of every other club in the top flight, which pleases me,” Kettlewell said. “That’s another thing on top of the seven extra points we’ve got on last season and the semi-final.”
“I know Marvin’s not that but again Ewan [Wilson] and Lennon [Miller], I need to keep banging the drum about that.
“I’ll add that into the mix, not just Marvin but these young players that are experiencing the trials and tribulations of senior football but they’re doing it very, very well at this point and you can see their growth and their development.”