IN THE EYE OF A STORM:

‘I can’t believe the way the Aberdeen support has treated him. The abuse he took. He should get more respect as one of the best ever to have played for them and part of the greatest team they ever had’

IT IS not yet known if Aberdeen will formally mark the 35th anniversary of their Gothenburg triumph next year but anyone posting invitations to the heroes of that night might well be minded to save themselves a stamp.

It can be safely assumed Mark McGhee will be washing his hair.

As the Motherwell manager took his seat in the Pittodrie main stand on Wednesday after falling foul of fourth official John McKendrick, the level of vitriol aimed at him was staggering.

If you possessed even a limited grasp of history, this might come as no surprise. McGhee’s 18 months in charge in the Granite City were an unmitigated disaster. Hideous defeats to Sigma Olomouc, Raith Rovers and Celtic pockmarked his reign.

Yet, as footage of the irate 59-yearold being mocked by Aberdeen supporters surfaced on social media, you had to remind yourself of his wider contribution to the club; two Premier League titles. three Scottish Cups. Providing the cross for John Hewitt to head the winning goal in the European Cup Winners’ Cup against Real Madrid. Scoring a goal as the Super Cup was won against Hamburg.

‘Mark should get more respect from the fans up there,’ said Motherwell assistant James McFadden. ‘He’ll go down as one of the best ever to have played for them and part of the greatest team they ever had.

‘To hear the abuse from the Aberdeen fans during the game was bad enough, but what ensued after his sending-off was ridiculous.

‘I’d known that his relationship with the supporters wasn’t as good as it had been after his time as manager there, but we have players from our 1991 Scottish Cupwinning team who are treated as heroes when they come back here.

‘That’s the way it should be because they have done a great service to this club — our fans still worship the ground they walk on.

‘You always hear about the glory days of Aberdeen but it seems to me that their fans have forgotten exactly what he did for them. I would have loved to have been part of a team that had won titles, cups and European trophies.

‘I had a season-and-a-half in the (Motherwell) first team and our fans were excellent any time I came back. So I can’t believe the way the Aberdeen support has treated him and I think the sheer extent of (the bile) left him in a state of disbelief.

‘If you didn’t know that he had played for them, you would assume that he played for their biggest rivals — that’s how far I would go.’

The midweek altercation left many to conclude that there is never any smoke without fire.

In November, McGhee blamed an ‘overzealous bouncer’ at Dens Park for landing an SFA disciplinary charge.

When Celtic visited the following month, he became embroiled in a war of words with their No 2 Chris Davies after objecting to the visitors warming up in the Fir Park goalmouth.

Nobody would ever class McGhee as a shrinking violet. But having witnessed events in the technical area in midweek, McFadden swears blind that what happened this time was a miscarriage of justice.

‘Really, it was nothing,’ he insisted. ‘Obviously, during every game you have a bit of chat with the fourth official about decisions and you want to know what’s going on. But I was surprised by what happened. It was an overreaction.

‘He’s (McGhee) a grown man, vastly experienced and when you feel as though something has gone against you, then you are not going to be happy about it.

‘Respect goes both ways and, as the manager has said, there was no issue with the referee during the game. You claim for everything — of course you do, but I wouldn’t say that there had been any glaring mistakes.

‘The manager is quite right to be unhappy about the way he was treated (by McKendrick). I’ve heard talk of a five-game ban but for what? I don’t know what was said (between the officials) but the manager thought that the referee was coming over to speak to me.’

With the matter not falling under the fast-track criteria, McGhee will be in the dugout at Celtic Park today. None of the fall-out from his midweek dismissal disguised how poor his side were in a 7-2 thumping and nor has it diminished the scale of the task they face against the runaway league leaders.

McGhee’s side, however, have a tendency to rebound off the ropes and come out swinging. Already this season they have dusted themselves down after desperate performances against Inverness and Aberdeen to claim victories.

More fuel for the fire comes with the knowledge that they won at Parkhead last season and were seconds away from taking a point against Brendan Rodgers’ side at home in December.

‘All of the players must take what happened on the chin and stand up to be counted,’ added McFadden.

‘Generally, we tend to bounce back so we will be raring to go. We felt we should have won the last game against Celtic (a 4-3 loss) and probably should have a draw at least. We also felt we could have had something from the last game at Parkhead when we lost 2-0.

‘We want to be the team that stops their run. We need to start winning and there is no better place.’

Scott McDonald comes back into consideration after suspension, but Carl McHugh and Richard Tait remain banned.

Louis Moult, who boasts four goals against the champions of late, believes a change of routine after the crushing midweek reverse was helpful in quickly putting the matter out of the players’ minds.

‘It was up there in terms of the toughest matches, although last season we lost seven at Celtic and six at Hearts,’ he recalled.

‘I think it helped staying over (in Aberdeen). The boys got back to the hotel, had some food and got their heads down. We needed that with this game only 48 hours away.

‘We all felt a bit fresher and had a good chat about the game. I think that helped draw a line under it.’

The manager is quite right to be unhappy about the way he was treated