McGhee Plays Mind Games

Mar 9 2008 By Euan Mclean

Hibs V Motherwell Wednesday, Kick-Off 7.45pm

MARK McGHEE learned managerial psychology the hard way when the master of manipulation Sir Alex Ferguson made him score 25 goals for Aberdeen and still fear the axe.

Now 25 years on McGhee has become an assured gaffer who has clearly picked up a few of Fergie's tricks along the way.

The Motherwell boss reckons it's here at the nitty-gritty end of the season that the battle for prizes becomes psychological warfare - and he has declared it on Hibs.

Nicely, mind you. No Ferguson-style baiting that has provoked spectacular outbursts from rivals like Kevin Keegan, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.

Instead McGhee is so subtle you almost don't notice him pulling the pin out with his teeth then casually lobbing another grenade.

Come Wednesday night we'll know if it exploded on target at Easter Road.

Both teams go head to head in the race to finish third and a Well victory would plump their cushion over fifth-placed Hibs to eight points with a game in hand.

But that won't be enough for McGhee - he's out to build a bogey team reputation that will stick in Hibee heads for their two remaining clashes this season.

Which is why buzz words like "destroyed" and "fear" pepper the air like shrapnel before the revelation that he considered signing Colin Nish in January from under Hibs' nose - but decided Well didn't need him. Ouch!

So while McGhee insists his psychology is aimed only at his own players you can't help think it's his former pupil - Mixu Paatelainen played under himat Wolves - he's targeting.

The Fir Park boss said: "Whatever happens on Wednesday all it's going to do is put down a marker for the other two games to come.

"If wewin convincingly it would mess with their heads for our remaining match.

"It's that important in terms of the psychological damage it can do that makes it a big game.

"Psychology is everything at this stage.We've beaten Hibs twice and there was a danger we could become a team they fear.

"But because of their recent run and the shot in the arm from Mixu coming in that will be offset by the confidence they've gained.

"So I have to remind our lads these are the same Hibs players we destroyed at Easter Road and beat convincingly at home. We should have no fear. I have to win that psychological battle with my men.

"Hibs have good players and Nish is one we considered in January but felt with Chris Porter getting better all the time we didn't need him."

Now the seeds have been planted it's a question of whether they grow in the minds of the Motherwell players who Mark aims to motivate in a more positive way than his legendary boss at Aberdeen. Stories of senior players, both at Aberdeen and Manchester United, living in fear of Ferguson (below left) are legendary and McGhee gave an insight into the mind games.

He said: "Sir Alex was the master of intrusive psychology.

"If he was in this seat he'd be working as hard on Mixu's and Hibs players' minds as his own team, whereas I stay closer to home.

"The siege mentalityhe cultivated at Aberdeen was his major ploy, going on about West coast bias.

"Individually he was always challenging and questioning you, making you question your own ability. One of his great tricks was whenever the team was picked you were relieved to hear your name.

"I used to go home and say to my missus: 'God, I was so pleased I was playing' and she'd say 'Yeah but you've played the last 36 games and scored 25 goals'.

"Somehow you still felt threatened - even afterwe'd won the Cup Winners' Cup - and it was a great way of keeping guys on their toes.

"Eric Black once scored a hat-trick at Parkhead then the next week at Dundee he was dropped.

"You couldn't call it squad rotation in those days - it was simply Alex keeping Eric down."