Canning draws strength from finest hour in play-off battle

MARTIN Canning has fond memories of the Premiership Play-offs after they provided him with the finest day of his playing career.

Following a 2-0 defeat in the home leg of the inaugural 2014 final to Hibs, the defender and his Hamilton side travelled through to Easter Road for what most people deemed a formality.

However, on an astonishing day in Leith, with the second leg entering injury time and Hamilton 1-0 up, Tony Andreu kept his cool to strike the sweetest of equalising volleys. Accies prevailed on penalties as the heavens opened and angry Hibs fans showered their fury upon Terry Butcher, his players and the club’s hierarchy. For Canning, the feeling was one of pure elation as Accies became the first — and, to date, only — Championship side to successfully negotiate their way to the top flight via the play-offs.

Rangers and Falkirk have both since fallen at the final hurdle and Canning hopes Dundee United suffer a similar fate after beating Morton and the Bairns to reach the final.

Should Accies fail, the play-offs that provided Canning’s zenith as a player will now be responsible for his nadir as a manager.

‘It was a great day, my finest moment as a player,’ he nodded ahead of tomorrow night’s first leg at Tannadice.

‘We lost the first leg 2-0, but 2-0 is a funny scoreline and we believed if we got the first goal at Easter Road, it was game on.

‘We did that and we got our second in the 93rd minute — a bit of fortune and a bit of fate.

‘Belief is the biggest thing in these games. If you believe you’re the team that’s going to come out on top, then there’s every chance you will.

‘We won on penalties and it was a fantastic achievement for the club to get up to the top flight. It was a day we will never forget.

‘Now we’ve got to go through the play-offs again. It’s slightly different because this time we are the Premiership team, but we need to make sure we maintain that status.’

In a twist of fate, Andreu will this time be lining up for United against his former side.

‘Tony played a major part in getting us up, scoring the second goal at Easter Road,’ recalled Canning.

‘He was fantastic in the game and for us over the course of that season. He is one of the reasons why Dundee United are a good side, but they have good players all over the park.

‘He is just another player we need to make sure we deal with.

‘It’s going to be a difficult game, and we will need to compete. But after winning 4-0 against Dundee last Saturday, we take belief and confidence up there with us.

‘The boys have proved they can be composed under pressure and play good football and win.

‘But I know Dundee had nothing at stake as they couldn’t go down and Dundee United will be fighting for every loose ball.

‘I don’t think the game will pan out in a similar way as the Dundee match, but we’ve got to make sure we handle the situation in the same way.’

Hamilton’s task in shackling Andreu and United’s in-form striker Simon Murray has been made even more difficult by the absence of Accies captain Mikey Devlin, who faces a lengthy lay-off after a scan confirmed he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

‘Mikey will miss out and that will be a blow,’ insisted Canning. ‘He has been fantastic for us, but it’s a chance for somebody else. I’ve said throughout the season that (injuries) give someone else an opportunity to come in and do well.

‘Georgios Sarris could be back fit for Thursday, so that could be like-for-like.

‘But I’ll not be pulling the boots back on myself. I’ve not trained in the last two months,’ added the 35-year-old, who is still registered as a player.

Canning also dismissed the notion that the play-offs are heavily stacked in favour of the Premiership side. While United must negotiate six ties to win promotion, Accies face just one two-legged tie.

‘I’m not sure it does give us an advantage,’ he countered. ‘Dundee United have only played one more game than us. Their regular season in the Championship is two games shorter (36) than ours in the Premiership (38).

‘We’ve been playing a lot of games recently as well. In the last week of the season, we played three games.

‘So I don’t think there is a huge deal of difference in the amount of games the teams have played to reach the play-off final.’