Aberdeen 2 - 0 Motherwell: Concern more than panic will surely �permeate the �environs of Fir Park today as the Clydesdale Bank �Premier League is surveyed and Mark McGhee �analyses the �stuttering nature his �Motherwell side�s form this season.

Concern more than panic will surely permeate the environs of Fir Park today as the Clydesdale Bank Premier League is surveyed and Mark McGhee analyses the stuttering nature his Motherwell side's form this season.

McGhee is, of course, nothing if not pragmatic and, despite last season's third-place finish in the league and a brief flirtation with European football, he will be the first to recognise the difficulties he faces in trying to effect improvements among his squad.

There were certainly long periods, particularly in the first half, where they produced the quick, passing football he has instilled in them since he moved back to Scotland. However, it is almost impossible to recall Jamie Langfield, the Aberdeen goalkeeper, ever being troubled, while his counterpart, Graeme Smith, showed what a good shot-stopper he is with three excellent saves.

Smith's penchant for attracting the spotlight - he took an eternity to tie his bootlaces as a Nancy player waited to take a penalty kick against him in the UEFA Cup earlier this season - was once more in evidence, flicking the contents of his water bottle in the direction of Aberdeen's Lee Miller in an effort to unsettle the Aberdeen striker as he was about to take a spot-kick in the 67th minute.

Miller, however, was not put off and delivered for his side, but only after Smith had been shown a yellow card for his extravagance.

"Yes, I tried to put Miller off," said Smith. "It was a bit of banter, a bit of fun. I wasn't soaking Lee but the ball. It delayed the spot-kick and the best thing that happened was that the referee booked me to waste a little time. I gave a wee wink, although he was quite right to book me.

"It's all part of football and there's no harm done. I've done things like that before. I tied my laces before a penalty kick against Nancy, but it took me longer to untie them. Anyway, on that occasion it worked and I saved the kick. I told the referee that after Saturday's game, so maybe I should do that one again."

By the time the kick was taken, Paul Quinn's red card for his last-man challenge on Darren Mackie in the area had left the visitors depleted and two goals down, Aberdeen's Gary McDonald having come on as a substitute five minutes earlier to head his side into the lead with his first touch of the ball.

It was a goal that lifted Aberdeen and brought about sustained pressure on the visitors from that point, the penalty kick being given during that feverish period when Miller's ability to focus, not to say his patience, was tested by Smith.

"If I was a goalkeeper I'd be doing the same sort of thing," revealed Miller. "You try to do as much as you can to put off the person taking the kick. It's part and parcel of the game and it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

"I know what he's like. He has that streak in him. We know each other from a couple of international squads we've been in. He's a good lad and a tremendous goalkeeper. He made some tremendous saves against us.

"They made it hard for us and were in our faces; a good, strong physical side. It changed in the second half and them getting Quinn sent off helped us.

"It wasn't the greatest game, but we stuck to our task to get the points. We are starting now to get into a groove and now we need to kick on."