IMRIE SETS SIGHTS ON CELTS AFTER SCREAMER

THE fact that Hamilton — pre-season favourites to finish bottom — are no longer mentioned as relegation candidates nine games into the campaign is a success in itself. No one at New Douglas Park is prepared to settle simply for survival, however, and now they have Celtic in their sights. Ronny Deila’s stuttering champions visit Hamilton on Sunday and winger Dougie Imrie, whose spectacular strike prompted the revival at Rugby Park on Saturday, is in the mood to do damage. ‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be an extremely tough game against Celtic,’ said Imrie. ‘They’ve got vast experience and quality throughout their team. ‘Everyone will need to be playing at the top of their game to even think about getting a result. ‘You’ve got to hope four or five of their players have an off day as well.’ While Accies have a full week to prepare for their biggest game of the season, Celtic face a tricky Europa League clash with Fenerbahce at Parkhead on Thursday. Imrie, though, doubts if that will dampen Deila’s side. ‘They’ve got so many players they can bring in, so that would just be an excuse,’ added Imrie. Celtic’s squad is full of excellent players — it’s not as if they’re bringing in any duds. Most of them will be internationalists, so they will still be very strong.’ Greg Kiltie gave Killie a well-deserved half-time lead when he stroked Kallum Higginbotham’s through ball past Michael McGovern. However, a spectacular strike from the far-from-prolific Imrie — a sublime half-volley which smacked the underside of the bar before bouncing in — brought Accies level before Ali Crawford completed the comeback. Imrie, who scored against Motherwell the previous weekend, is now aiming for an unprecedented treble by scoring against Celtic. ‘It would be nice. Maybe I’m a little streaky when it comes to goals but a bit of confidence helps,’ he said. ‘I don’t score enough but that’s two in two now so, hopefully, I can get a few more this season.’ While the travelling fans went home in buoyant spirits, the Killie support once again jeered their players off the pitch — and midfielder Higginbotham believes the boos are justified for failing to turn performances into results. ‘We were in the driving seat,’ he said. ‘Even though we didn’t play to our potential in the first half, we went in 1-0 up. ‘Tope Obadeyi had a chance just before the break and he’s got to score. ‘We should have kicked on but we didn’t seem to come out of the dressing room for the second half. ‘We had a flurry of chances near the end but it was too little, too late. It shouldn’t take going behind to start playing again. ‘At 1-0 up we should be confident to come out in the second half and try to get that second goal. We’ve had the chances to win.’