Rice bemoans more ‘severe’ Covid chaos for Hamilton

HAMILTON manager Brian Rice is resigned to the fact the chaos caused by Covid-19 is only going to intensify after seeing his team plans for Rugby Park ripped apart just hours before kick-off.

Accies have been dogged by a number of coronavirus-related issues this term and lost defender Aaron Martin late yesterday morning when the track-and-trace app on his phone told him he had to self-isolate.

Rice insists it is crucial that football keeps maintaining some form of normality as society comes to terms with rocketing death and infection rates from Covid.

However, he believes it is going to get harder and harder to put a team on the park as this more infectious mutant strain of the virus continues to tear through society at large.

‘It’s going to get worse,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing surer than that. It does affect your team selection and everything at the club.

‘That’s why you need numbers. We’re actively trying to get people in but it’s really, really difficult.

‘As I said already, I thought I had two players signed last Friday, the Covid situation changed and they chose to stay in England.

‘The two of them have signed for an English club this week.

‘It’s very frustrating.

‘We were missing our two main centre-halves from the last two clean sheets. Brian Easton was injured last week and came off, then Aaron got caught up in a track-and-trace situation at 11.30am.

‘It’s not just us who have problems, but we have got it severe.

‘We just can’t get that wee run with the same team and people available.

‘Everything was done (on Saturday morning). We’d worked out the team, worked out the set-plays and, when the phone rang at 11.30am and it’s the physio, your heart sinks. Aaron is a big player for me.

‘He’s been fantastic for me since he came in. Him and Brian have held the back three together.’

Jamie Hamilton played in a young and inexperienced rearguard and was caught napping as Greg Kiltie took advantage of unexpected space to score his second goal of the game on 63 minutes and complete a 2-0 win for Killie.

‘I don’t think Jamie would have done that if Aaron had been playing alongside him, keeping him right,’ said Rice.

‘Kilmarnock were the better team in the first half, but, in the second, we were still in it and giving it a go. Remember, we also hit the bar at 0-0.

‘A bit of inexperience cost us at the second goal.

‘Young Jamie did something very rash which he wouldn’t normally do.

‘Jamie says he didn’t see him (Kiltie).

‘It’s inexperience but they need to learn and learn quickly.’