ABERDEEN supporters' treatment of Mark McGhee has been branded a 'disgrace' by James McFadden on the back of the abuse dished out to Motherwell boss on Wednesday night.

McFadden blasted back at the Dons fans who berated the former Gothenburg icon as he was sent to the stand during Well's 7-2 Pittodrie thumping.

Throughout the game McGhee was subjected to shouts from the crowd, before confronting a supporter who filmed his dismissal on a camera phone midway through the second half.

Many Aberdeen fans clearly still feel aggrieved for the 59-year-old's disastrous spell in charge of the club from 2009 to 2010. However, his No.2 at Motherwell was taken aback by the vitriol which spewed towards the man that is still the north east club's ninth-top goalscorer in their history.

“He should absolutely demand more respect from the fans up there. What people have seen is the aftermath of a decision, one which we couldn’t understand why it was made.

“As a result, the manager was, quite rightly, upset. Their fans had been on his case the whole game and, when you consider how much he did for them as a player, it’s a disgrace that he’s treated the way he is by them.

“He’ll go down as one of the best ever to have played for them and part of the greatest team they ever had.

“To hear the abuse from them during the game was bad enough but what ensued after his sending off was ridiculous.

“I’d known that his relationship with the supporters wasn’t as good as it had been after his time as manager up there but we have players from the 1991 Scottish Cup-winning team who are treated as heroes when they come back here.

“That’s the way it should be because they’ve done a great service to this club – our fans still worship the ground they walk on.

“You always hear about the glory days of Aberdeen but it seems to me that their fans have forgotten exactly what he did for them.

“I would loved to have been part of a team that had won titles and cups and a European trophies – as it is, I had a season-and-a-half in the first team and our fans were excellent any time I came back.

“So I can’t believe the way the Aberdeen support has treated him and I think the sheer extent of [the bile] left the manager in a state of disbelief as well.”

There still remains confusion in the Motherwell camp over why McGhee was ordered to the stand in the first place during a dismal night for the Lanarkshire club.

The Motherwell manager spoke afterwards of the bizarre behaviour of fourth official John McKendrick that eventually led to referee Alan Muir being called over in the first place.

Two days on and McFadden seemed as perplexed as his gaffer over a decision as the Fir Park club waited to hear what disciplinary action would be taken against him.

“There is a process to be followed so there will be a hearing. I don’t know when that is so Mark could be available for the next game as well. We’ll wait for the outcome," said Faddy.

“I’ve heard talk of a five-game ban but for what? I don’t know what was said [between the officials] but the manager thought that the referee was coming over to speak to me.

“Really, it was nothing. Obviously, during every game you have a bit of chat with the fourth official about decisions and you want to know what’s going on during the games and I was surprised by what happened."

On the back of that drubbing, Motherwell now have the unenviable task of going to Parkhead today to face unbeaten Premiership leaders Celtic.

However, encouragement can still be taken from previous meetings, and McFadden said: “Generally, we tend to bounce back so we will be raring to go.

“We felt we should have won the last game [Celtic won 4-3 with a last-minute winner] – and probably should have got a draw at least.

“We have been more than a match for them and we want to be the team that stops the run.

“We need points and we need to start winning games and there is no better place."