IMRIE: ACCIESMUST FIGHT FOR POINTS
Accies must fight together, says Dougie
Dougie Imrie says Hamilton can’t just turn up and expect to win games, and hinted that the midweek win over Aberdeen may have caused a bit of complacency against basement dwellers Dundee.
The midfielder says the players are disappointed with their performance against Paul Hartley’s men, and that manager Martin Canning left them in no uncertain terms that it was unacceptable.
Imrie hopes they can use that against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday and get back on the right track.
He said: “It was poor, the performance on Tuesday against Aberdeen and on Saturday against Dundee was night and day, so from that point of view we’re bitterly disappointed.
“We can’t just turn up and move on, we have to be at it all the time, and it’s bitterly disappointing, because with Dundee being on such a poor run it gave us an opportunity to keep them down there and move forward.
“We know we’re a good team, we’ve proved we are a good team when we put our mind to it, but we can’t have four or five players not at it every week.
“For a club of our size and the players we have, we know ourselves it needs to be a collective effort from everyone, from the goalkeeper right through to the strikers, and who the manager chooses to pick in his XI.
“When you’re on that park you have to give it your all, you can’t just think you can turn up because you’ve beat Aberdeen in
the game before.
“We know that, the gaffer has told us in black and white that it isn’t acceptable and we know that as players ourselves.
“We just have to try and move on to the next game now. We have a good bunch of boys in there, and we’re all bitterly disappointed, but there’s another game next week and it’s imperative that we go to Kilmarnock and get the three points there.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get away from where we are at the moment.
“The league is so tight that if we had turned those draws into wins we’d be OK, we would be up there. “We know what we have to do, and we’re just bitterly disappointed with the performance because the effort and commitment was there on Tuesday, but we know we can’t just turn it on when we want.” Hamilton started well and could have taken the lead inside the opening 40 seconds when Grant Gillespie’s cross from the right was knocked down by Eamonn Brophy to Ali Crawford, but he sent a shot fizzing just over. Dundee showed their menace in five minutes when Tom Hateley’s corner was headed just past the right post by Julen Etxabeguren.
FASTFACT Saturday’s defeat against Dundee was Hamilton’s first in five Premiership games. It was also the only game Accies have played this season in which they haven’t scored.
James Vincent sent Craig Wighton down the left in 18 minutes but he fired a low shot just past the left post.
Greg Docherty sent a dipping shot inches past the left, and Alex D’acol fired an effort just over the top right corner from just outside the box.
Dundee nearly scored in 26 minutes when Wighton’s cross was flicked just past the right post by Marcus Haber.
Crawford set Docherty up with a chance in 53 minutes but his powerful shot was well taken by David Mitchell.
Dundee scored the winner in 61 minutes when Kevin Holt’s cross from the left was met with a shot by Paul Mcgowan that skidded off Haber and into the bottom left corner.
Holt tore down the left in 82 minutes and squared to Hateley, but his shot was blocked.