CANNING RAGES AT CALL-OFF:

HAMILTON manager Martin Canning insisted referee Barry Cook acted too quickly in calling off last night’s clash against Kilmarnock. Cook was asked to the Superseal Stadium to inspect the snow-hit artificial surface at 5.15pm and took the decision to postpone the Premiership meeting on the grounds of player safety around an hour later. Canning, though, claimed the work being done by the Accies groundstaff would have made the pitch fit for action well ahead of the scheduled 7.45pm kick-off. ‘If you go and look at the pitch just now, it’s fine,’ said Canning, speaking at 7pm last night. ‘For me, it’s playable. We played Ross County here recently and it was worse then than it is now. ‘It’s been cold and there was a lot more snow than we’d expected but the groundsman has worked hard to clear the pitch and, if the ref had been willing to give it another half hour, the game could have gone ahead.’ Snowfall on Tuesday night in Lanarkshire was followed by freezing fog on Wednesday morning. Asked if Hamilton could have acted quicker to salt the surface, Canning replied: ‘I don’t know — clearly, you need to remove the snow first and the snowfall came from nowhere and covered the entire pitch.’ Cook, however, said he couldn’t be expected to gamble on an improving situation and had to protect the players. ‘There has to be a cut-off and we have to judge it at that point,’ he said. ‘The paramount thing is player safety and I couldn’t guarantee they weren’t going to keep their footing, and if they slide into a tackle there’s a risk of somebody sustaining a serious injury.’ A Killie spokesperson added: ‘We are disappointed but we understand the decision.’ Meanwhile, Hull City are weighing up a move for Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones when the January transfer window opens. The 23-year-old has also been watched by Rangers, Burnley and Norwich City in recent weeks.