The Steelmen travel north to take on Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow night.
And for Mark McGhee, who will serve the final game of his two match ban, it presents an opportunity for his side to extend their unbeaten run following the goalless draw with Kilmarnock on Saturday.
The Dons come in to the match on the back of an identical result with St Johnstone at the weekend, and will be keen to extend their unbeaten run to three matches.
Despite some good opportunities throughout Motherwell’s clash with Killie, the Fir Parkers failed to find a breakthrough, and that is something that the manager hopes will improve tomorrow night.
Speaking to the press this morning, he said: “I think we made enough chances to win the game and I was disappointed with a lot of aspects of it.
“We have to do better in front of goal. We have to be putting these shots on target and at least making the keeper make saves, but it’s the old adage ‘as long as you’re making chances’ and if we continue to make chances then we know that with the players that we have in the team that we have people who can score goals, like Moult and McDonald, and if we present them with chances eventually they’ll get their goals.”
On the back of the Dons 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock, McGhee admitted that tomorrow nights clash at Pittodrie will be a big task for his side.
He said: “We know that we can go up there and lose 5-1 but we also know that on our right day we can go up there and give them problems.
[pullquote]We have to do better in front of goal. We have to be putting these shots on target and at least making the keeper make saves, but it’s the old adage ‘as long as you’re making chances’.[/pullquote]
“I said after Kilmarnock’s loss to Aberdeen that we’ve been in the position where we’ve concede five in one game then come straight back and won the next game and that’s the nature of this league.
“We go up there and, win, lose or draw, we look ahead to the next game.”
For Motherwell, a win presents the opportunity to leap in to the top six, while Aberdeen can go to within a point of Rangers in second with victory at Pittodrie.
The Steelmen have a few fitness doubts ahead of tomorrows clash with the Reds, including Chris Cadden, Stevie Hammell, Jack McMillan and Ross MacLean, who broke his toe on Saturday.
Defender Richard Tait hopes to build on the weekend’s clean sheet as the Steelmen take on Aberdeen tomorrow night.
But the summer signing knows that the trip to Pittodrie will be a challenging one.
Speaking to the press this morning, the 27-year-old said: “It’s another tough one, none of the games are easy and tomorrow’s is just as hard as any other.
“The games are coming thick and fast but personally, for me, I like that it keeps us going, there’s not much training and you’re just getting straight in to another game so I’m looking forward to it.”
He added: “Every game is different, every team you play against is different but every game we go in to against any opposition is the same in the sense that we want to win.”
The full back praised his teammates going forward and hopes they can get back to their clinical best in the away league clash tomorrow.
[pullquote]I expect myself to be available for every game and try and play in every game so personally it’s going to plan. I’m enjoying playing and I’m enjoying being in the team so I just need to try and stay there.[/pullquote]
He said: “We kept a clean sheet on Saturday and we need to try and build on that and get the same outcome as a back four.
“I’m sure that Sammy definitely wants more clean sheets than he’s had this season and we need to help him tomorrow.”
He added: “If we keep a clean sheet the worst we can do obviously is draw. Unfortunately on Saturday we had a few chances that normally the boys would put in the back of the net and they didn’t but over the season they’ve scored a tremendous amount of goals and we’ve maybe let them down defensively so, we’ll be trying to build on our clean sheet and I’m sure they’ll be trying to get back amongst the goals.”
This season, Tait has been one of the consistent players in Mark McGhee’s side, playing every minute of every match so far.
He said: “I expect myself to be available for every game and try and play in every game so personally it’s going to plan. I’m enjoying playing and I’m enjoying being in the team so I just need to try and stay there.”
Aberdeen have chalked up one victory in their last three league outings and will be keen to return to winning ways in tomorrow nights clash at Pittodrie.
For Derek McInnes, he will have a near full-strength squad to pick from as his side look to close the gap on second-placed Rangers.
That side couldn’t find the breakthrough against St Johnstone at the weekend though, with the two sides playing out a 0-0 draw.
Prior to that, McInnes’ men stormed to an emphatic 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock in what was the first of three matches in the space of seven days for the northern outfit.
And while they come in to the match on the back of a goalless draw, the prospect of facing Aberdeen at Pittodrie is a challenging one for every club in the division this season.
In the eight matches they’ve played at home so far, the Dons have lost just once and that was in the shape of a 1-0 defeat against league leaders Celtic, when Tom Rogic fired in the only goal of the game in the same weekend the Steelmen ran rampant at home to Ross County – winning 4-1.
Goals haven’t been a problem for Aberdeen this season, and the league’s third highest scoring side have found goals from all over the park too.
Midfielders Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn sit level with striker Adam Rooney as the clubs top scorers on four goals, while Jayden Stockley and Kenny McLean have three to their names.
Defenders Andy Considine, Shay Logan and Anthony O’Connor have all found the back of the net, while James Maddison has chipped in with some important performances and a particularly important goal – a last minute free-kick against Rangers to secure all three points.
Equally impressive is the Dons defensive record. McInnes’ side have only conceded 15 goals in the league – a total only bettered by Celtic.
This is the first clash between the two sides this campaign after the two sides met on four occasions last term. Aberdeen won twice, Motherwell once and the other match ended in a 1-1 draw.
It’s an important match for both sides, postponed due to the Dons progression in the League Cup, where they got all the way to the final but lost 3-0 against Celtic.
With the chance to move in to the top six, it is enough inspiration for Mark McGhee’s side and will be an intriguing encounter at Pittodrie.