Mark McGhee has demanded his Motherwell players show "courage" against Rangers on Wednesday night at Ibrox as they chase a place in Europe.McGhee expects the home crowd to give Rangers a huge lift as Walter Smith's side play their first home match since reaching the UEFA Cup final.
And the 'Well boss has instructed his players that the way to beat Rangers could be through frustrating the hosts and keeping them off the ball for long stretches.
Celtic beat Motherwell 2-1 on Saturday, although McGhee's third-placed side gave a decent account of themselves before Georgios Samaras headed the winner from Barry Robson's corner.
McGhee said: "I think the two things we have got to do are be prepared to keep the ball and defend set-pieces better.
"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."
McGhee rested several notable players against Celtic, including Ross McCormack, Stephen Hughes and Graeme Smith, and has pledged to leave out other first-team regulars again, saving them for Saturday's crunch clash with Aberdeen.
Motherwell could tie up third place this weekend if they beat Aberdeen and rivals Hibernian and Dundee United fail to overturn the Old Firm. But defeat would give Aberdeen hope of pinching third place.
The Steelmen have two games in hand on the other contenders for third place, the first of which is this game and the second of which also comes against Rangers, on May 17.
McGhee said: "I will again spread the load but I will also pick a team I believe can beat Rangers.
"We have a lot of games coming up. Rangers have more than us but we have got two more games than everyone else."
McGhee is sure quadruple-chasing Rangers will not show any signs of weariness.
The Scottish Premier League rejected an appeal by Rangers to ease their fixture schedule ahead of next Wednesday's UEFA Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg.
Rangers boss Smith has told his players they must be more lively at the start of the game following a low-key first half in Sunday's goalless draw at Hibernian.
And former Aberdeen striker McGhee knows that challenging on all fronts can inspire players to extraordinary levels of energy.
McGhee was a key member of the Dons side that lifted the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup and Scottish Cup, and pushed Dundee United for the league title in the same campaign.
He played more than 70 games in one season and stressed that tiredness will not affect Rangers.
He added: "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."
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