Mark McGhee, the Motherwell manager, is not expecting an easy ride against a Rangers side fatigued from their assault on four fronts when the teams meet in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Ibrox tomorrow night.

Despite all the talk of the Ibrox side's hectic schedule, McGhee, the former Aberdeen striker, insists that challenging on all fronts can inspire players to extraordinary energy levels.

McGhee was a key member of Alex Ferguson's side that lifted the 1983 European Cup-Winners' Cup and Scottish Cup, and that also pushed Dundee United for the league title and a man who played more than 70 games in one season knows that exhaustion will not be a problem at Ibrox tomorrow night.

"I don't think it's a factor, certainly not in terms of this game," said McGhee. "Maybe right at the end of the season or the Scottish Cup final, not tomorrow night. But my experience as a player tells me that players find extra resolve when the stakes are as high as they are. They find extra energy.

"I don't expect anything other than a top performance from Rangers."

While Rangers have seven huge games left in their season, Motherwell have four of the biggest games the Fir Park club has played in recent years.

They go into the Ibrox game with a one-point advantage over Dundee United in third place, with McGhee likely to make changes after resting key players such as Ross McCormack, Stephen Hughes and Graeme Smith during Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Celtic.

The Motherwell manager insisted he had given the trio who replaced them the incentive to stake their claim for a place in the team for Saturday's crunch game against Aberdeen, when McGhee's side could clinch a UEFA Cup spot.

"It was also about spreading the workload at this stage of the season," he said. "We have a lot of games coming up, Rangers have more than us, but we have got two more games than everyone else.

"First and foremost, I picked a team that I thought could beat Celtic," he added.

"We made a not-bad fist of it. We didn't win, but I thought we could have taken something out of the game.

"Tomorrow night I will again spread the load, but I will also pick a team I believe can beat Rangers. I think the two things we have got to do are: be prepared to keep the ball and defend set-pieces better."

McGhee also warned his players to be ready to play under pressure, in the presence of a partisan Ibrox crowd.

"We are not going to score every time we have the ball. We have to have the courage to keep possession despite a big crowd who are going to want their team to be up for it."

Aberdeen, meanwhile, are looking ahead to their game with the Fir Park outfit, with Jimmy Nicholl, the assistant manager, insisting his team will face a "muck and nettles" battle for third place in the league.

The Pittodrie side have given themselves a chance of taking the SPL route into the UEFA Cup, but Motherwell are the team best placed to nail down third spot.

Severe problems with the Fir Park pitch have affected Motherwell and their visitors and Nicholl does not expect the weekend encounter to be the most attractive game in terms of football aesthetics.

"The pitch might not allow you to perform the way you probably want," said Nicholl. "I can see it just being muck and nettles on Saturday, giving it everything and getting the three points that we need."

But it may not be simply the underfoot conditions at Fir Park that affect the way the match is played.

"I can't see it being any other way than two teams going hell for leather to get those three points,"

Nicholl told RedTV, on www.afc.co.uk.

"We have to stop Motherwell playing, Motherwell have to beat us. I can't see it being any other way and there's nothing wrong with that, two teams fully committed to getting three points for their own reasons."

He added: "This is a must-win game for us. It doesn't matter what the performance is. We have to win this game."