Mark McGhee hailed the influence of the "brilliant" James McFadden as Motherwell moved into the next round of the Scottish Cup.

The Steelmen saw off Highland League side Cove Rangers with an emphatic 5-0 win, in which Stephen Pearson grabbed a double - with further goals from Louis Moult, Scott McDonald and Marvin Johnson.

McFadden, 32, signed on a short-term deal until the end of January, came on at 4-0 in the 52nd minute to make his third debut for the club where he started his career.

He showed flashes of his renowned talent as the home side bossed their Highland League opponents and manager McGhee said afterwards: "He has still to get up to speed but he will be able to make a contribution.

"He is an entertainer. You saw the way he teamed up with Scott so there will be another day where we will be able to use him in the same sort of way and he will be effective for us.

"I have said before, he is just brilliant, having him around the place, the influence he has in others like Dom Thomas for instance. It was a pity he didn't score."

McGhee joked that he had given Pearson long enough to get his hat-trick before he replaced him with Thomas in the 70th minute.

Asked if his midfielder felt disappointed, the former Celtic, Aberdeen and Scotland striker said: "I don't know. I don't really care.

"Keith Lasley is suspended next week against Hearts and I wasn't taking any chances with Pearo, he did enough.

"He had 70 minutes to get a hat-trick and I have scored hat-tricks in less than that."