Lish Accies ri

Darian Mackinnon could only laugh as he was informed that jubilant Hamilton fans had been singing that they are going to win the league.

The 3-1 win over Hibernian on Saturday was impressive but not the stuff of miracles. What it may help them do, however, is stay in the league and provetheirscepticswrongonceagain.

Their low budget, and even lower crowd numbers, make them the pundits’ perennial picks to go down but since getting the better of the Leith side in the May 2014 play-off, Hamilton have successfully safeguarded their Premiership status.

“I’ve said it before. I don’t disagree with people in the media or whatever,” said the Hamilton midfielder. “If I was looking in from the outside then I would be saying Accies would be the team to go down. But it is up to us to keep proving people wrong.

“The gaffer emphasised that we had to get a good start. You don’t want to get cut adrift because I think a lot of the bottom-six teams are fairly even squad-wise. A good start can give you a massive help in terms of staying in the league.”

Hibs had started the season well, winning at home to Partick Thistle and then away to Rangers, but with manager Neil Lennon admitting that he had failed to stay on the backs of his players in the build-up, they floundered against Hamilton. Flat and with errors at the back, a bluntness to the attack and little zip in the midfield, they were made to pay by visitors who turned in a display that Martin Canning described as one of the most complete he has presided over as their manager.

Mackinnon, pictured left, did not disagree. “I thought we were excellent, to a man,” he said. “Both teams played good football at times, in fact. “I knew they were going to let us play – and that we’d let them play. We have good players and if it doesn’t turn into a battle we can be a right good side. I thought the pitch was massive, in terms of there being a lot of space to play, and we used it well.

“We can play like that but we are not going to get carried away. We are not going to play like that every week. At least we have shown that when we get time to play we can do it. We are not just a lump-it-up-the-field team.

“I was delighted for Rakish [Bingham] getting his goals because he has been given a wee bit of a hard time about not scoring. But if you are playing for Hamilton, you are not going to get many clear-cut opportunities. He took his goals very well.”

The first was from the penalty spot,

“We have shown that when we get time to play we candoit.wearenotjusta lump-it-up-the-field team”

DARIAN MACKINNON after Darren Mcgregor miscalculated a challenge on Greg Docherty in the 51st minute. Up until then, Hibs’