Having been a key part of Ross County’s success story, it is no surprise Stuart Kettlewell has felt a massive void in his life since his association with the Staggies ended.
Kettlewell was sacked from his role as manager last month, more than 11 years after he first arrived in Dingwall as a midfielder from Clyde.
In his debut season, Kettlewell was instantly immersed in success, helping the club reach the Scottish Cup final before playing an integral part in their promotion to the top flight in 2012.
After moving into coaching, Kettlewell led the Staggies’ under-20s side to the Development League title in 2017 before taking on the role of first team co-manager along with Steven Ferguson the following year.
The duo guided County to a Championship title and IRN-BRU Cup double-winning campaign in 2018-19, before succeeding in keeping the club in the Premiership.
Kettlewell made an encouraging start after taking on the job on his own last summer, but a poor run of results which resulted in County falling to the foot of the table led to his dismissal by Staggies chairman Roy MacGregor.
Having started his senior footballing path as a teenager with Queen’s Park, Kettlewell says the reality of being out of work has been something of a shock to the system.
The 36-year-old said: “When you have spent so much time your daily routine becomes something, and then it comes to that sudden halt.
“After Christmas and New Year, it has been pretty challenging because of that routine. Saturday at 3pm is an incredibly difficult time.
“I’m only 36, which in coaching and management terms is young, but to cast my mind further back I have been involved in first team squads for the last 20 years of my life, since I was 16 or 17.
“I have heard people who have lost jobs in the past say similar things. In the initial couple of weeks there is a lot of contact from people wishing you the best and checking how you are, but inevitably that starts to quieten down.
“There are a few low moments where your mind wanders and you wonder what the future holds, but it’s nice to have a family around me and a busy house.”
Kettlewell was disappointed he was unable to build on a promising start to the campaign, which saw County record back-to-back victories before going on to win just one of their following 16 league matches prior to his dismissal.
He added: “There will be plenty learning points for me to move forward, especially over the last couple of months to change it back to what it was for us at the start of the season.
“We really got out of the traps well, we were playing some top drawer football. We were dominating the ball against good teams, creating chances and keeping clean sheets.
“There was a lot of good stuff in that first five or six games, so my biggest regret from the last six months was that we weren’t able to build on that and sustain that level of consistency.
“In developing the team, we wanted to try and dominate the ball and see some younger players progress, whether it was guys who had come through our academy, or younger talent we had identified from outwith.
“That’s a bit of a passion of mine, to see guys that aren’t the finished article and help them along the journey to becoming better players. It has always been something that has appealed to me, and I realised that from an early stage.”
No bitterness towards Ross County
Kettlewell insists he holds no bitterness given his association with the Dingwall club, and has nothing but well wishes for his successor John Hughes.
He added: “I’m not trying to sound like I’m vindicating myself, but I think it’s important to have a look back at what has transpired over the last period of time.
“It’s important to look back on the success, but I understand the nature of the job, in that, as the manager, if results aren’t good enough, more often than not it results in you losing your job.
“I accept that and take that on the chin.
“When I’ve been through what I have with the club, I don’t walk away with any bitterness or hoping people are going to fail.
“That bitterness and self-preservation in football at times disgusts me, so there definitely hasn’t been any of that from me.
“I don’t know John overly well, but I phoned him just to wish him all the best.
“My son is in the academy, so I didn’t want a situation where I was dropping my son off or watching a training session, and people thought I was at the club casting an eye over it.
“John has got his own good football brain and a wealth of experience in the game, so he will have his own ideas of what he wants to do.
“I go on record as genuinely hoping Ross County can get themselves away from that bottom end of the table and try to kick on for the remainder of the season.”