Motherwell boss Mark McGhee not taking Aberdeen lightly despite dip in form
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee is expecting to see the best of Aberdeen at Fir Park on Friday night.
The Dons have faded in recent weeks after losing the Betfred Cup final to Celtic last month, winning only one of their four league matches since to drop seven points behind second-placed Rangers - albeit they have a game in hand over the Ibrox side.
The Scotland assistant boss, however, insists every game in the Ladbrokes Premiership offers a clean slate.
"I have said this about us all and I include the top teams - whatever happens in one game has practically no relevance to the next game," he said.
"We all can win a game after losing and lose a game after winning, so it is no different for them.
"We have to assume that they will be at their best.
"They have a great pitch to come and play for and they will think they can come here and get back their form, but we have to make sure that they don't."
The teams met at Pittodrie on December 13 only for the match to be abandoned after floodlight failure.
McGhee, however, saw enough in the few minutes of game-time to give him encouragement.
He said: "Even though it was only 10 minutes, we got a flavour of it up there and I felt competitive so I think we can give them a game.
"They are one of the top four teams and will finish in the top four.
"It will be a difficult game but we are at home - generally we do quite well when we are at home - so we can be positive."
James Maddison would be happy to stay at Aberdeen for the rest of the season.
The Norwich midfielder's loan spell ends after the festive fixtures but the 20-year-old is open to extending it if Canaries boss Alex Neil decides it is the best course of action for his development.
"I'm enjoying every minute of being here," Maddison said.
"I have got exactly what I wanted coming here. If I did go back in January I would go back a better player, especially with the help of the manager and the team.
"But that's a conversation that I'm sure Alex Neil and Derek McInnes will have at some point. I haven't really thought about it because there are so many games at the minute and I'm just focused on Motherwell. But I just want to play football. I love football, it's my job, I want to play games.
"Alex Neil will decide what's best for me. If he thinks that is going back to help the team there or staying here to play games, I will trust his judgement.
"I have spoken to him recently about football things. There's no rush, especially with the winter break. It's out of my hands. When the time comes, if I have to make a decision, I will take it for the best of my footballing ability.
"But I have enjoyed every minute here and if that means staying for the rest of the season then I'm happy to do so."
Maddison's enjoyment has been tested of late with Aberdeen falling seven points behind second-placed Rangers after winning just once in four games since their Betfred Cup final defeat by Celtic.
That run has prompted some rare criticism of manager McInnes but the Dons boss has vowed to ignore outside influences.
"I don't put myself out there to read too much but I'm aware that there's a reaction and comment," McInnes said. "That happens when you don't win games. It's important for me to see that's a sideshow and what I can affect is just working with the players.
"We fully expect to have criticism if you don't get results, that's what happens when you work at a club like this.
"It's nothing where we have not been before. We have huffed and puffed and not got any momentum since the cup final.
"The two defeats, I think, have been quite harsh on the team: the performances were good. So sometimes you can over-analyse things."
Source: PAR
