MOTHERWELL and Stuart McCall are both subjects close to Gary McAllister's heart.

He was born in the Lanarkshire town 49 years ago and it was at Fir Park that he took the first steps in what would blossom into a stellar playing career. Of the 57 international caps he went on to accrue, many were gathered alongside McCall at the heart of the Scotland midfield, including appearances at Euro '92 and '96.

McAllister will retain an air of professional neutrality when he returns to the BT Sport commentary box for tonight's live coverage of the SPFL Premiership game between Aberdeen and Motherwell but it would only be natural were he to journey to Pittodrie harbouring slight fears for his hometown team and their beleagured manager.

After years of consistent over-achievement, Motherwell are having a wretched time of it right now. Rather than competing at the top of the table as had been the norm in recent years, they find themselves in second bottom place, with just two victories to their credit after 10 matches. They have lost their last three league games and have conceded 10 goals in the process, as McCall cuts an increasingly frustrated figure.

A section of the club's support have not been slow in venting their displeasure over the unusually sluggish start to the season but McAllister feels any criticism of McCall is undeserved. The former Leeds United midfielder believes his one-time Scotland team-mate has earned the right to some extended respite, both for the success McCall has brought to the club in recent years but also because he has been forced to operate with ever diminishing resources.

"Whenever Motherwell lost a game in the last few seasons then they would usually respond with a positive result in their next outing," McAllister told Herald Sport. "But they haven't this year. They're on a wee run of bad results just now. After all the praise they've had for punching above their weight in the past then I'm sure Stuart will be the first to acknowledge the criticism will come when things then go the other way. I think that's unfair, though, given the number of players they've lost.

"Stuart's not really been able to go out into the transfer market and get anyone new in, and it's a big ask to go and repeat the success they've had year after year. I think if you keep losing the quality of player that they have done over the years then eventually it will take its toll.

"This is the first real sustained run of poor results but they have to trust the guy who led them to those second-placed finishes and Europe for so many seasons. Bad results always lead to criticism and Stuart won't be immune from that but he's experienced enough to crack on and turn things around."

McAllister hoped the board of directors at Fir Park might come to McCall's aid when the transfer window re-opens in January. "I'm sure Stuart would like a bit of help if possible, even if money is tight. He'd like a few fresh faces just to try to turn things around. In the past Ross County have done that, freshening things up in the January and it's worked by giving them extra impetus for the second half of the season. Maybe that's what's needed at Motherwell, too."

Attendance levels, which have not risen commensurately with the team's higher finishes up the table, can partially be attributed to the recent financial downsizing at Fir Park but it is something that has bemused McAllister.

"I find it quite amazing [that crowds have not gone up] when they've been going on so well," he added. "Even at times in games against Celtic at Fir Park I've seen empty seats. When I used to go the big games when I was younger, the stadium was always full. The challenge is to try to get the town buzzing again and get everyone behind their local team."

Aberdeen v Motherwell is exclusively live on BT Sport 1 from 7.30 tonight. BT Sport will show five SPFL games live before the end of November, including Hibernian v Hearts (October26) and Hearts v Rangers (November22). Visit BT Sport.com for more info