Manager's passion play is a big hit with Clay
“It gave us that extra bit of bite and fight”
OVER the past seven days, Mark McGhee has been involved in a spat with Celtic’s backroom staff and landed a touchline ban for an outburst at a match official.
Clearly, the Motherwell manager is not one to bottle up his emotions. But while the fiery aspects of his personality may be frowned upon by the authorities, midfielder Craig Clay insists the Fir Park squad love his approach.
McGhee won’t be in the technical area for today’s visit from Kilmarnock after collecting a threematch ban — one suspended — for expressing his anger over a ‘ghost goal’ in last month’s defeat to Dundee.
John Beaton and his refereeing team ignored claims that Dens Park goalkeeper David Mitchell had carried the ball over his line.
That punishment, confirmed on Thursday, came in the wake of a row with Parkhead No 2 Chris Davies last weekend.
McGhee had instructed Celtic to stop using the goalmouth for pre-match shooting practice as portable posts had been provided.
Davies then reacted at full-time after Tom Rogic’s late goal secured a dramatic 4-3 win for the champions.
Speaking after the match, McGhee said Davies’ behaviour had lacked ‘Celtic quality’. Brendan Rodgers fired a barb back at him.
The row continued when James McFadden, McGhee’s assistant, backed his boss and branded Davies ‘disrespectful’.
Clay (below) watched his manager take Celtic to task before kick-off and believes it fed into a first-half display that saw Motherwell accrue a 2-0 lead.
‘It’s good to see that passion and anger in your manager,’ said the 24-year-old. ‘It automatically feeds through to the players.
‘It was great to see and it gave us that extra bit of bite and extra bit of fight before the game.
‘He’s an emotional guy. He wants his team to do well and he wants people to respect us. I’m all for it.
‘You get the odd b ****** ing from him in training if you do something wrong but it’s more about advice. He’s great at man-management and making sure you put it right next time.’
As for McGhee’s original complaint against Celtic, Clay insists his manager was right.
‘They were asked to warm up in the portable goals,’ he said ‘That’s normal procedure — every team does that in every ground. They didn’t listen, so they were told to move and rightly so.
‘I think people need to show a bit of respect and adhere to the rules. Little things like that rile you.
‘It does give you that extra incentive to get one over them as you’re thinking: “They are coming to our place and not showing any respect”.’
As it was, McGhee’s side fell just short in that aim. Clay, though, feels that performance can give Motherwell heart as they seek to climb out of a congested Premiership bottom six.
‘We went toe-to-toe with the best team in Scotland and were really unlucky not to take anything from the game,’ he reflected.
‘That’s the heart-breaking thing about it. To score three against Celtic and not get a point was really disappointing.
‘But that performance will make a lot of teams take notice and think we have got a bit about us.
‘It shows how far we’ve come. My first game against Celtic was a 5-0 defeat, so it was a bit of a contrast.’
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, will look to Souleymane Coulibaly for inspiration as they head to Lanarkshire seeking to shrug off a 5-1 midweek hammering by Aberdeen.
The Ivorian has made an excellent start to his Rugby Park career, netting ten goals since moving north to the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership.
Coulibaly, who shot to prominence as a teenager when he led the scoring charts at the 2011 Under-17 World Cup, admits fearing his career had stalled when he was released by Peterborough at the end of last season.
But Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark has been quickly rewarded after handing the former Tottenham youngster a three-year deal. ‘The manager has given me some buzz back, some power,’ said Coulibaly. ‘A lot of people were thinking before: “Coulibaly is dead”. I couldn’t find a home.
‘I was top scorer at the Under-17 World Cup but some people thought (I was finished) — but now I’m showing them they are wrong. I’m still a top scorer.
‘I’m trying to give the manager my thanks by scoring goals and by helping the team.
‘I’m trying my best to give him that payback because he certainly deserves that.’