There was no getting away from the Scottish Cup disappointment last time out, but this team has shown already that it knows exactly how to respond to a setback.  St Mirren were the source of our other heartbreak this season, and Jens Berthel Askou said there was an added incentive to get more revenge on the Paisley side for the Hampden defeat in November. In true Motherwell style this season, the team set out on their quest to reach 50 points and achieved it in style. Elijah Just, Tawanda Maswanhise, Ibrahim Said, Emmanuel Longelo and Eythor Bjørgolfsson all found the back of the net in a 5-0 hammering of St Mirren in a rain-soaked Paisley, becoming one of just five non-Old Firm team to win by five goals in the top-flight. In the biggest margin of victory in the Scottish Premiership this season, Motherwell all but secured their top-six status for the season and closed the gap to Celtic to just three points. Keeping their 20th clean sheet of the season, equalling the club record with 11 games left to play, means that optimism and expectations have never been higher going into the most crucial part of the season.

Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts on thrashing St Mirren in Paisley.

Full match replay

Stephen Welsh said it was difficult to watch the defeat to Aberdeen on Wednesday night, but believes the players have shelved that defeat and are now determined to finish the season strongly.  The defender believes this is the most consistent football he has played in his career, but believes a lot of that is down the manager, coaches and teammates.

Jens Berthel Askou understands the major disappointment from exiting the Scottish Cup on Wednesday, but thinks there is always an added incentive to try and defeat St Mirren given the Paisley side's win at Hampden earlier in the season.   Askou discusses VAR and the decisions from Wednesday night.

At the second time of asking, Motherwell faced Aberdeen in Round Five of the Scottish Cup, looking to progress to the quarter-final.  Having got the better of their opponents just three days ago, the Steelmen arrived at Pittodrie on a cold and windy Wednesday night with confidence that they could get the job done again. Six changes were made to the side that defeated Aberdeen, but sadly, there wasn't a great opportunity to see how those changes would take effect. After just two minutes, Oscar Priestman was ordered off for an untimely and purely accidental slip that caused Lyall Cameron to crash to the deck just outside the box. Kevin Nisbet scored from the resulting free kick, and with just four minutes on the clock, the Steelmen would be a man and a goal down. The numbers would be levelled out midway through the first half, however, when Dennis Geiger was also shown a red card for a high tackle on Lukas Fadinger. The Steelmen stuck in there and started the second-half well in the match. But the game would take another twist in controversial fashion. Liam Gordon fouled Toyosi Olusanya 50 yards from goal, but VAR decided to intervene, and John Beaton showed his third red card of the evening to the Motherwell defender after watching the footage back from an angle in the North Sea. Graeme Shinnie slotted a second as the nine men of Motherwell tried to remain in the tie. With nine players and the game nearing its conclusion, Motherwell continued to battle, with Longelo, Nicholson, Maswanhise and Slattery all having chances. Just their fifth defeat of the season in all competitions, Motherwell have 12 matches left in their league campaign remaining as they look to finish what they started in the Premiership.

Jens Berthel Askou reacts to exiting the Scottish Cup at Pittodrie.

Liam Gordon says the squad are confident ahead of their round five match against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, and believes that players, staff and fans should all be dreaming when playing in this competition.  Gordon says the Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat still hurts and says the players will look to try and get to the latter stages of this competition too.

Jens Berthel Askou says both teams will have learned things about themselves after the first match between Motherwell and Aberdeen on Sunday, but believes the task of Motherwell winning this time round will be harder due to the home crowd Aberdeen advantage will have for this cup tie.  Askou wants his players to embrace the pressure and expectation on their shoulders, as his side look to secure a spot in the quarter-final.

This would be the first match between Motherwell and Aberdeen in the space of four days. With the first fixture taking place at Fir Park in the William Hill Premiership, the Steelmen were looking to stretch their unbeaten run to 11 games on home turf.  A refreshed Aberdeen lineup took to the field, which consisted of four players making their debuts, and both sides would have chances. Ibrahim Said, Elijah Just and Tawanda Maswanhise went close, but when Just eventually made the breakthrough midway through the first-half, many would have thought it would become a comfortable afternoon. But Aberdeen continued to fight and would count themselves unlucky not to have drawn level in the second period. But when Tom McIntyre got the final touch on the ball before it nestled in the Aberdeen net, the points were sealed for Jens Berthel Askou's side, which made it one defeat in 17 matches, thus moving onto 47 points.

Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts on the 2-0 win over Aberdeen at Fir Park.

Full Match Replay - Motherwell v Aberdeen