Liam Kelly happy to be straight back to Motherwell action

Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly is happy to be right back in the thick of the action as his side chase Viaplay Cup progress despite having less than a week off for his summer holidays.

Kelly was in the Scotland squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Georgia and was quickly back into pre-season training.

The former Rangers, Livingston and QPR player is now looking to help his side reach the second round when they host East Fife in a group decider on Saturday.

Kelly said: “I got four or five days after the last game of the season and went away to Spain, then came back and I was away with Scotland for a training camp.

“After the Georgia game on the Tuesday night, I was back in here on the Friday morning.

“No real break other than a few days but I love football. I don’t really want a break, I will get a break when I finish.

“I am not interested in taking any breaks. I will be in here trying to train as much as I can and play as many games as I can. I love that.”

Kelly got an unwelcome break against Queen of the South in the second group game when Aston Oxborough was handed his debut and clinched a bonus point following a penalty shoot-out.

Stuart Kettlewell’s decision ended a run of 112 consecutive games Kelly had played since joining Motherwell in January 2021.

“That day was always going to come for me, there was always going to be a game when I wasn’t going to play and that’s the manager’s decision and I respect that,” the 27-year-old said.

“I want to play every game, everyone wants to play every game. It’s not always going to happen.

“Big Aston came in and did absolutely fine in the game and obviously had a really good save for the penalty, so that wasn’t an issue.

“I was disappointed but that day was always going to come for me and I was always going to be disappointed.”