WE MUSTWIN BACK RESPECT
Rice: Players can use fan fury as motivation
Brian Rice says Hamilton Accies will have to earn back the respect of the fans after their Rangers humiliation.
And that must start by qualifying for the last 16 of the Betfred Cup this week.
As the Advertiser went to press, the Accies gaffer took his side to Stranraer where only a win would do to appease angry fans, some of whom confronted him outside New Douglas Park on Sunday night following their 8-0 thrashing at Ibrox – a club record defeat in the SPFL era.
There’s a Lanarkshire derby with Albion Rovers to come on Saturday and Rice has called on his players to give the club everything to stop the wheels coming off their season.
He said: “The players need to go out and earn back the respect and appreciation of the fans after last weekend.
“We need some good news. “It’s two big Betfred Cup games for a number of reasons. One, we want to qualify for the next round, and two, we want to get our season back on track.
“They [the players] have got to go out there and give it everything they’ve got, that’s all the fans want
– and that’s what I demand they give the fans.”
Rice says he has relayed the fan comments from Sunday night to his players and insists he owed the Accies faithful an explanation for their Ibrox implosion.
He said: “Those fans turned out on a wet, s***** Sunday night, when they were hurting because their team has been well-beaten – and I appreciate them coming down.
“They came down to show how much they care about the club and they deserved to have me come out and give them an explanation.
“That’s why I went out – because I care about the club.
“And they showed how much they care about it.
“They deserved a bit of respect and I gave them the respect they deserved.
“I promised them I would relay the message to the players and I did that first thing Monday morning in the team meeting.
“I’m an honest guy and I told them exactly what the fans said.
“The players couldn’t disagree with it because of the result and the performance.
“The players know it wasn’t acceptable. It’s up to them to turn things on its head and use that as motivation in these games.”