WE’RE FIRED FOR BATTLE
Mcgowan says target is six points from next two
Aaron Mcgowan has set Hamilton the target of winning three games on the bounce as they battle to escape the relegation zone.
‘AJ’ led Accies to a 2-1 win over Hearts on Saturday, but he says they also need to take points from St Johnstone today (Boxing Day) and Motherwell on Sunday.
Mcgowan said: “There are no words to say how big that win was on Saturday. We couldn’t lose that, in my opinion it wasn’t possible.
“I’m as honest as they come as a player and a lad, and we couldn’t have lost that.
“The pressure was on, for such a young squad, and I think we delivered.
“We answered some critics. Some people probably want us to fail, but we know what we’ve got in that changing room and I’m proud of the lads.
“We’re not out of anything yet but we know it’s still going to be a dog-fight. We know where we are.
“We haven’t been good enough this season, but at least it’s a start, and we’ve probably put a few smiles on people’s faces for Christmas.
“We go again on Thursday, which is massive now.
“We need to do something that we haven’t done for a while, since before I’ve been here, but that is the challenge that has been set.
“We go into Thursday’s game, all systems go and we have to be ready for it.”
Mcgowan reiterated the importance of the win over Hearts, courtesy of goals from Mickel Miller and Will Collar.
He said: “I was captain and I can’t fault the lads, everyone gave everything they’ve got.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, but if you had told me before the game that we would have one shot on target and Hearts would have 40, but we would win 1-0, I would have taken it.
“It wasn’t about performance, it was about getting three points.
“These are massive games this week before the split. There are no small games, especially in the position we find ourselves in now.
“We’ve got to fight for every point, and some weeks we might not get the result we want, but as long as we have that group of lads in there we will fight for every point and I’m sure people will appreciate that.
“The derby is massive. Motherwell are a good team, let’s not get away from that.
“They’re a top team at this level right now,but we’ve got to put our hands up, fight for the jersey and we’re not just there to take part.”