IT MAY be too early to state with certainty, but this battling draw may just have marked the start of the Motherwell revival.

Certainly, judging by the performance, the gloom over Fir Park shows encouraging signs of lifting, though the same cannot be said of Aberdeen, where there will be continued re-examination of the collapse of form following the brightest of beginnings to a season.

As Mark McGhee, acutely aware of his lack of popularity with home supporters keen to remind him of his sacking from the manager's job at Pittodrie five years ago, made his way to the away dugout several minutes before the teams made their entrance, the pressure of rejuvenating a Motherwell outfit which had lost 17 of their previous 20 Premiership games under Ian Baraclough, might have weighed heavily on his mind.

The home side's faltering form – four successive defeats following an unprecedented eight wins – on the other hand, could have turned them into the wounded animal ready to bite back.

And Adam Rooney's questionable opener, two minutes before the break, suggested that was the case, despite Motherwell's slick and attractive passing game that frequently dismantled a troubled home defence.

Was Stephen Pearson's challenge on Shay Logan which led to Niall McGinn's free-kick into the area for Rooney's header, really a foul? Was the striker offside when he scored?

"No" and "yes" were McGhee's respective post-match answers to those questions.

The manager has been a force for good at Motherwell, according to Connor Ripley, their 22-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Middlesbrough, whose stunning save from Logan late in the game, proved crucial.

"He's brought positive vibes to the place and we're buying into what he's doing," said Ripley, due to return to Teeside in January but keen to remain until the end of the season.

"He wants us to play and learn how to deal with situations like today.

"I think we've adapted really well to him.

"He's told us what he wants from us and we've carried it out.

"I think that's the best we've played all season, apart from the opening game when we won 1-0 at Inverness.

"I still think we are a top-six team. I think we proved it against Aberdeen, even if we haven't in previous matches.

"We have the quality and I'm proud of them for the way we played against Aberdeen."

There are several questions for McInnes' side, meanwhile.

What has precipitated their recent decline? Do they see Celtic Park on Saturday as a venue from where they can begin their revival?

Rooney, who has hit seven goals this season but who never knows week to week whether he will be in the starting line-up, believes so.

He recognises, however, that all is not well in his side's defence, a factor which will not have gone unnoticed by Celtic's representative at Pittodrie on Saturday.

"It's going to be a good game and we are just looking to get ourselves going again," he said.

"The spirit is there and hopefully we can go and get a win.

"We created chances against Motherwell and we just need to tighten up on defending set plays to go and get a good result at Celtic Park.

"We just need the lads to perform to the levels that we know that we can and put in the effort that we need to do it."

In the interim, there will much soul-searching at Pittodrie in the build-up to Saturday's intriguing prospect.

Can they free themselves from their current morass?

The odds are stacked against them as they seek to spring a surprise.