Bin the banners if you want to stop us flagging
HAMILTON v ROSS CO Curran urges County fans to get behind the team instead of calling for gaffer Jim to go DAZ SAID SORRY FOR MAD MOMENT
CRAIG CURRAN is urging Ross County supporters to ditch the banners and back the team as the relegation fight hots up.
A small group of supporters in the Global Energy Stadium “singing section” unfurled a flag calling for manager Jim McIntyre’s sacking on Tuesday night as they grasped an important win over Dundee.
The unrest, amid a season of inconsistency for County, comes just over a year after McIntyre’s men secured the club’s first major trophy, the League Cup, by beating Hibs at Hampden.
Curran understands the frustration but believes the small band of disaffected fans will only make it harder for the team to hit winning form in the final weeks unless they rally behind the cause.
The Staggies striker said: “The fans here have been brilliant from day one since I signed up.
“We can understand their frustration because they know how good we are. They know the players we’ve got.
“What I would say to them is we are working so hard behind the scenes, from the players to the staff.
“Tuesday’s match against Dundee showed just how much we’re fighting – and fighting until the last minute.
“Look at the subs we had to make, with Andrew Davies, Martin Woods and Jay McEveley all going off injured. But the lads who came in were fighting for it just the same.
“They’ve been amazing but things like the banner don’t help. They don’t help us as players, as a club or as a team.
“I’d respectfully ask them not to do stuff like that because we can see it when we’re playing.
“I understand their frustration about where we are but right now we need to fight and get up the league.
“We need to get ourselves away from everything else and finish seventh. We can do that by staying together on and off HAMILTON boss Martin Canning has revealed Darian Mackinnon has apologised for his moment of madness in the midweek derby with Motherwell.
The midfielder was sent off after gesturing to the Fir Park fans during Wednesday’s clash against the Steelmen that ended in a 0-0 draw.
Mackinnon will be suspended as Canning’s men the pitch. We will turn it around – our performances have shown that. We just need the results to match it which it did on Tuesday.”
Liam Boyce’s late penalty clinched the vital three points against Dundee.
And Curran hopes today’s tussle at Hamilton, three points below the Dingwall side in the play-off position, will prove that win was a turning point. He added: “If we go and entertain fellow strugglers Ross County at New Douglas Park today.
And the Accies gaffer admits it is a huge blow to lose MacKinnon for such a vital encounter after his error of judgment in midweek.
Canning said: “Darian has apologised and he knows he was silly to do something like get a win or two with a couple of good performances the whole thing will change.
“Confidence levels will rise and our mindset would then be a bit different – suddenly we’ll have more energy.
“Turning that around the other night shows we’re still there, still fighting – and the quality will come through.” that. He’s an experienced guy. He knows he has let the boys down, he has let himself down and I wouldn’t expect that to ever happen again.
“The biggest blow is we lose him for an important game but he feels the way we are all feeling.”
Hamilton occupy the relegation play-off spot in the Premiership and Canning expects the battle to beat the drop to go all the way.
Canning said: “Our games are against the teams around us. Every game becomes big.
“I can’t see how any team can take themselves out of it. I imagine it will go the wire.
“We have had one win and a draw against Ross County this season and we need to try to beat them again.”