DOCHERTY KEEN TO KEEP PROVING PEOPLE WRONG

ANYONE hoping to carve out a career at the sharp end of the professional game is advised to acquire a skin as thick as a rhinoceros from an early age. Flattery is usually in short supply. As the Ladbrokes Premiership’s smallest supported side, Hamilton are rarely bowled over by compliments. That situation is unlikely to change even if Martin Canning’s men extend their stay in the top flight to a fifth season. Greg Docherty gets all this. He appreciates the reasons behind it. In the eyes of many, small isn’t necessarily beautiful. But what the Accies midfielder fails to recognise is the image opponents have tried to paint of his team of late. Last month, it was Neil Lennon’s turn. The Hibernian manager accused Hamilton of adopting ‘caveman tactics’. Then Partick Thistle’s Adam Barton added his tuppence, claiming the kick-and-rush approach employed by Canning’s men was giving Scottish football a bad name. Docherty (right) detects a pattern developing. He gets that one is unlikely to confuse Hamilton’s style with the wizardry of Barcelona any time soon, but the 21-year-old feels there is a growing danger of mud unfairly sticking. ‘I read a Thistle player saying we’re a scrappy team but if you look at Saturday’s performance, it was the opposite. We played football,’ he said after the 1-0 loss. ‘I was a wee bit baffled, to be honest. People should just focus on their own team. ‘But I think we are an easy target purely because we are the smallest team in the league and so have a small voice. ‘It’s no skin off our noses. We’ll keep proving people wrong.’ Kilmarnock, the form team in the country at the moment, would not be the visitors of choice this evening as Accies look to get back to winning ways. Confirmation of the astonishing impact Steve Clarke has made at Rugby Park came with a 2-1 win over Rangers. In former Accies team-mate and close friend Eamonn Brophy, Docherty sees walking proof of Clarke’s canniness. ‘I’m not surprised he’s done so well,’ added Docherty. ‘I know Eamonn’s qualities. He’s a natural goalscorer with both feet. I think he’s shown that in the past few weeks. ‘Hopefully he has an off day. Maybe we’ll know how to deal with him as our centre-backs will have played with him. Hopefully they can do that.’