Source: Team_Talk
McGhee takes inspiration from Smith
Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee admits he adopted Walter Smith's European tactics to get a draw against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday.[LNB] The Rangers boss played five centre-halves against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday night and managed to carve out a creditable goalless draw in their Champions League Group C opener.[LNB]For the trip to Lanarkshire in the SPL McGhee also set out his Dons side with five natural stoppers: Jerel Ifil, Zander Diamond, Nikola Vujadinovic, Andrew Considine and Rory McArdle, with the latter two playing wide.[LNB]Those tactics came unstuck when Jamie Murphy gave the home side the lead in the 35th minute but Pittodrie striker Scott Vernon levelled 10 minutes in to the second half from close range.[LNB]The former Fir Park manager said: "It was about the personnel. I looked what I had available and I picked what I thought was going to be our best XI and it contained five centre-halves.[LNB]"I took a certain amount of inspiration - if that is the right word - from Rangers against Manchester United and I thought if it is good enough for Walter, it's good enough for me.[LNB]"When I first came to Motherwell I played three centre-forwards because they were our best available and the best available today were centre-halves.[LNB]"I was happy to get a point. On the balance of the game it was right."[LNB]McGhee will consider using the same tactics against Smith when Rangers are the visitors to Pittodrie next Sunday.[LNB]"We will certainly think about that between now and then," he said.[LNB]"The likelihood is that they will be available so we will consider that.[LNB]"But we hope to develop it to give us more attacking opportunities.[LNB]"We didn't push off enough from it. We were encouraging our full-backs to get up but it goes against their mentality but we will work at it.[LNB]"Certainly Rangers are one of the top teams in the country and are always difficult home or away.[LNB]"At times we are going to have to put up a rearguard action so there's probably no better way than five centre-halves."[LNB]Motherwell boss Craig Brown took McGhee's tactics as a compliment but insists it was his players who were to blame for only gaining a point.[LNB]Brown, who revealed that left-back Steven Hammell, who missed the game with a hamstring injury, will not be fit for the Co-operative Insurance Cup tie against Brechin in midweek, said: "I would have said they were playing a back three of centre halves with two wide players with a defensive mentality.[LNB]"But it's a compliment to us if teams come here and do that, particularly teams who have better resources and a lot of new players.[LNB]"I don't fault them at all, I fault ourselves for not making more of the opportunity to get three points.[LNB]"I feel frustrated. The goal we lost was poorly defended, our defender was on the wrong side.[LNB]"Our goalkeeper didn't have a save to make and normally you would be pleased with that but we didn't have enough creativity and we fault ourselves for that."[LNB]Dons keeper Jamie Langfield returned to the Aberdeen goal for the first time since injuring his foot on a bus journey south for a pre-season game but the Dons keeper was keen to put the record straight.[LNB]He said: "There's been a lot written about it, people saying I dropped a coffee on my foot, but I was on the bus and it was a full kettle of boiling water.[LNB]"And I didn't drop it as I've been slaughtered for. It was a freak accident, it fell off the side and onto my foot.[LNB]"But I'm glad that I've got back to full fitness.[LNB]"It was good to get back although I feel for Mark Howard for the way it happened."
