Stuart Kettlewell has challenged his Motherwell players to embrace being taken out their comfort zone when they face Rangers at Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon. 

Kettlewell acknowledges that it's rare for his team to be kicking off at the national stadium so soon into the Scottish Premiership season. 

Despite that, he's hoping Motherwell can replicate the sort of display they put on the last time the two side's met in Glasgow, where the Steelmen triumphed 2-1 winners at Ibrox in March.

"There's a different feel to it and I've never hid from that when we knew we were going to be playing here," the Motherwell boss said pre-match.

"It's always a special occasion coming to the national stadium, but we just see it as an away fixture.

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"Coming to Hampden in the second league game of the season seems a bit strange, but what an environment for the players to play in. What an opposition to play against. 

"I keep speaking about trying to take ourselves out our comfort zone as a football club because I believe the only way you get better is if you come to environments like this, in front of crowds like this, and play against quality opposition. So, we have all those boxes ticked today. 

"It's now about us making sure that we turn up and we actually perform to compete in the game."

Motherwell have suffered an early season injury crisis with as many as nine first team players unavailable. 

But Kettlewell knows he can still call upon the experience of people like vice-captain, Stephen O'Donnell, who was previously Scotland's first choice right-back. 

"Stephen O'Donnell keeps telling us he's got 26 caps for Scotland," the Fir Park gaffer laughed. 

"I don't know how many of them have been on this pitch but several of the boys have played here before. Several of them have played in front of big crowds against good teams, and there's one or two, I'm looking at Lennon Miller at 17, but he's got a wealth of experience having played in front of Ibrox and Celtic Park, and all these different places."