Tough Call - Armchair Fan Or Fresh Air Fiend

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee is hoping the attraction of seeing live football in the flesh will encourage fans to ignore the TV option of watching Celtic take on Barcelona in the Champions League and head to Fir Park instead.  McGhee is less than thrilled to be going head to head with their game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle against a glamour tie and knows the crowd at Fir Park is likely to be affected. He believes the visit of Inverness could play a big part in deciding whether Motherwell eventually beat Dundee United to third spot in the SPL and clinch a place of their own in Europe next season. However,  even the Well boss admits the last 16 clash at Celtic Park is a far more attractive option than a trip to Fir Park. McGhee said: "If I had a choice, I'd stay at home too. It's not my decision to play the game tomorrow. But it's an important three points so hopefully we get the win and then I can go home and watch the highlights later on. This is our game in hand and could potentially decide whether we finish in the top three or not. We need all the help we can get, we need the supporters and I think the players deserve that support. We still have Celtic to play another twice and the fans will all be out for those games - but we need them for games like this one too."

Motherwell were back to winning ways with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Gretna at the weekend after the disappointment of their Scottish Cup exit. McGhee was pleased to see his players back on form and was keen to play down the 2-1 reverse in the Cup at the hands of the First Division club. He insisted: "It was only one game. We had been doing well in the league so one poor performance certainly doesn't derail us."

Saturday's win allowed Motherwell to make third spot in the SPL their own again but McGhee admits there is a long way to go before they can be confident of ending the season in that position.. He believes Dundee United are better equipped to cope with the demands between now and the end of the season but insists Motherwell deserve plenty of credit for their efforts so far. McGhee said: "It's still too early to call. Dundee United have strength throughout their squad, it's a big squad with strength in depth and they have made some signings and spent some money. We've got a smaller squad which means it is more difficult for us to maintain the momentum. We hope to keep it going and I'm thrilled that we have managed to do that so far. As far as the players are concerned, it's a minor miracle."

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