Motherwell 2 - 1 Aberdeen: Motherwell cap dramatic return from the depths with Uefa spot

TWENTY-FIVE years to the day since the highlight of his own playing career when he set up John Hewitt for the decisive goal in Gothenburg which helped Aberdeen win the European Cup Winners' Cup, Mark McGhee savoured his finest achievement as a manager yesterday when Motherwell clinched third place in the SPL.

After taking a seat in the main stand at Parkhead where he watched Celtic defeat Hibernian 2-0, McGhee also knew the shift put in by his own players on Saturday against Aberdeen had been sufficient to earn the Lanarkshire club a berth in European football for the first time since 1995.

While plenty of Motherwell's players are deserving of a pat on the back for the part they've played in a remarkable return to prominence, perhaps the most influential beneficiary of Motherwell's transformation from relegation candidates to European hopefuls – they finished tenth with 38 points a year ago, 18 fewer than they've already accumulated this term – is their manager.

While McGhee is understandably quick to highlight the contribution of his staff, particularly in coping with the numbing loss of Phil O'Donnell, the truth is the former Reading, Wolves and Brighton manager showed the others the way by giving the Fir Park side a fresh context in which to play.

"The players have had to deal with a lot and they helped each other by showing a tremendous spirit to get through it," recalled McGhee. "There are boys who are still quite disturbed and emotional about the events around Christmas and they have done well to produce performances and win points."

If his acquisitions were shrewd – Stephen Hughes added guile in midfield throughout the season, while Chris Porter, as happened against Aberdeen, scores goals even when he doesn't contribute much else – McGhee's talent for getting more out of the footballers who were already on the books when he arrived is bound to make the manager a summer target for clubs with much deeper pockets than Motherwell.

What's been particularly impressive about the manner in which McGhee has managed a relatively small squad of players is his willingness to adapt.

In the aftermath of O'Donnell's loss, the Fir Park pitch became a quagmire. On the rare occasions in the dark of winter when the surface was playable, it was no longer possible for Motherwell to produce the subtle, one-touch style of play which characterised the first half of their campaign.

McGhee had to adapt, and the success of his re-design was again evident against Aberdeen when Motherwell played a lot of long, diagonal balls into the corners of the pitch and launched attacks from wider areas.

"It was a game where Aberdeen had nothing to lose," he reflected. "It wasn't always pretty because we all know about this pitch. We had to play in a direct manner and hit a lot of diagonal balls to Chris Porter. He didn't win many early on, but it opened up a bit after Darren Smith came on and he got the first goal which was fantastic."

As is so often the case for Motherwell, Hughes was the instigator. He broke down the right, turned onto his left foot and crossed for Porter to set up Smith. Up until then, Aberdeen had performed adequately without showing a cutting edge. The introduction of Sone Aluko changed all that. Darren Mackie showed good composure on the ball and set up the winger with a nicely judged ball over the top of Motherwell's defence. Aluko's stinging left-foot volley flew past Graeme Smith.

Having got back on level terms, Aberdeen could have won the match when Stuart Duff's cross was missed by Aluko and fell nicely for Barry Nicholson at the back post. The midfielder's stabbed shot was clawed out of the goal by Smith. Nicholson immediately claimed the ball was over the line and TV pictures would later demonstrate the goal should have stood. In what's been an appalling season for Scottish referees and assistants, the Pittodrie club are entitled to feel as if their quest for European football was sabotaged just as badly as Dundee United's campaign.

Thanks to that let-off, Motherwell re-grouped and Hughes and David Clarkson set-up Porter for the winning goal eight minutes from time. Attracted by an admission price of £5, the ebullient home crowd of 8,500 hailed a victory which brooked no argument about the imminent return of Uefa Cup football. By 2.15pm yesterday afternoon, Motherwell's mood of optimism was converted into celebration.