WHOLE NEW BALL GAME
Canning knows Accies are facing tall order at Dons
Martin Canning has warned his Hamilton side they will need to fight for everything if they are to take points from Aberdeen on Sunday.
Accies head to the Granite City for their Scottish Premiership opener, three days before entertaining the Dons in the Betfred Cup last 16.
Canning says the Group G games have provided good opposition and a chance to rotate his squad – but he expects a much sterner test against Derek Mcinnes’s men.
The manager said: “I was pleased with the 3-0 win over Stenhousemuir, there were good signs but we know that it’s going to be different going into the league campaign.
“Teams aren’t going to sit off us and let us dominate the ball, so we’re going to need to fight and work hard for what we’re going to get. And we also need to try and be brave and play football.
“It’s going to be a different type of football we’re going to have to step up to against Aberdeen. And we have to make sure we’re well prepared.
“The whole point now is that we’ve had the four competitive games and hopefully that stands us in good stead. We’ve managed to rotate the squad enough that everybody has got game-time and, leading up to a league campaign, everybody should be itching and ready to go.”
Canning acknowledged that Tuesday’s draw at Albion Rovers put Hamilton into a tight spot on Saturday – and he was happy to progress.
He said: “It put us in a position where we had to win by scoring a few goals and hope that Albion Rovers didn’t win and if they did, we had to better their result by two.
“We did what we had to, and now we’re through and qualified for the next round.
“It’s pleasing that three different players scored goals and players at the top end of the pitch – David Templeton, Steven Boyd and Ali Crawford.
“Rakish Bingham was unfortunate, he had two or three good efforts and was unlucky. Jason Scotland has told him to be more positive, more selfish, want to score goals, and you could see that.”
On the striker front Canning says he’s still hard at work.
He said: “I understand that it’s frustrating for everybody because everybody wants to have players in, but that’s something we’re prepared to work hard on and hopefully we can get it right.
“We’re looking for a striker that will make an impact and we can’t just say ‘we want him’, make him an offer and he comes.
“We don’t want a striker who will assess his options and maybe go to Hamilton, we want guys who want to come to the club.”
Hamilton were given a home tie against Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup last 16, on Wednesday, at 7.45pm. Entry is £10 for adults and £5 concessions.