TEN months ago Motherwell rocked Aberdeen in the most dramatic fashion possible.

It was a 1-0 victory earned in the dying seconds when a goalmouth scramble saw Craig Reid bundle the ball into the net, sending 2,000 travelling fans into raptures as the Fir Park club sealed a second-place finish at the expense of their hosts.

This time the Steelmen go to Pittodrie once more aiming to bring home a similar result for altogether different reasons.

While last season was spent challenging for European places, this campaign has been a battle on an unfamiliar front.

A win tonight in Aberdeen would take Motherwell a giant step closer to staying in the Premiership and heaping pressure on relegation rivals St Mirren and Ross County.

And boss Ian Baraclough claims a victory would be even BIGGER than the landmark result last season.

"It was a dramatic moment at the end of the season for everyone," said the Fir Park manager of the result gained by Stuart McCall's side. "It went right down to the wire.

"Tonight is just as important, if not even more. If we can come away with the same scoreline, and in the same manner, I'll be a happy man.

"I'll take a last-minute winner. Is there any better time to score than with the last kick of the game?

"But games are so different, you can't pre-empt anything. All you can put in place is how you go about things. As long as you are organised and prepared for anything that happens and be flexible enough to deal with it."

Baraclough is aware of how difficult it will be to topple Aberdeen.

The Dons have only lost six times on league duty this season, including just twice at home.

However, Motherwell have only lost once in their last 10 trips to Pittodrie - a 1-0 loss back in October.

And Baraclough insists his team will not be daunted by the challenge.

He said: "I wasn't going to mention it, but it's been a happy hunting ground. We go there with no fear and no reason to believe we can't come back with a result.

"We have had a steady week building into a live Friday night TV game which should inspire everybody.

"Having already seen Aberdeen down here after I took charge, I've been very impressed with them.

"They will still be looking at challenging Celtic at the top, so we know it's a game we have to be on our guard for."

Baraclough also had a few words for the man he succeeded at Fir Park back in December.

Former Motherwell manager McCall resigned from his post with the Steelmen in November, only to take a step back into management last night after being named as manager of Rangers until the end of the season.

And Baraclough added: "I think everyone will be really pleased to see him back in a job. It's a frustrating time for any football man when he's out of work.

"I spoke to him a couple of times and last week during our Under-20s game and sat with him for a half [McCall's son Craig plays for Motherwell's U20s].

"We chatted about football things and you could tell he was desperate to get back into day-to-day work.

"The stuff he does with the Scotland first team comes round every few months and, for him, it's probably not enough. It's good to see football people back in a job."