Sam is hoping that it proves to be a season of double survivals
Sam Stubbs is involved in a battle to beat the drop with ADO Den Haag in Holland – but the relegation fight in the Scottish Premiership is never far from his thoughts.
The 21-year-old central defender started the season at Hamilton Accies in a loan move from Middlesbrough. But he moved to Dutch football during the January transfer window.
The lure of playing abroad and working under former Newcastle and Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew was too good for Stubbs – son of Celtic legend, Alan – to turn down.
But he has fond memories of his time playing for Brian Rice’s team and is sure they can climb the table and survive in the top flight for the sixth season on the trot.
Accies currently sit two points ahead of bottom club Hearts. But they are four points adrift from St Mirren, in 10th place.
Stubbs told The Sunday Post: “Hamilton get written off every season but they always manage to find a way.
“I feel they should be higher up the table, 100%. But we did drop silly points and red cards also proved costly in some games.
“The situation they find themselves in is one they have been in several times before. They know what to do to get out of it.
“When the split arrives and it comes down to the final five games of the season, that’s a scenario Brian Rice and the players will thrive on. That will not scare them.
“Hamilton are powerful and they have some really good players. They will face the challenge head-on.
“Other clubs might become too anxious when it reaches the make-or-break stage and that could be damaging. But Hamilton have a strong feeling that they will be able to do what is required to reach safety.
“Brian Rice is an excellent coach and he will keep things nice and calm and the players will be focused.
“Of course, they must not take anything for granted but they have my backing to stay in the Premiership foe the sixth season. What a fantastic achievement it would be.
“It would make for a nice ‘Double’ if ADO Den Haag can also climb away and find a way to survive.
“Alan Pardew is relaxed about the situation and he has said many times that our squad has the talent and the quality to get up the table.
“We are currently second-bottom. The bottom two clubs are relegated and third- bottom goes into a play-off.
“Obviously, we want to win as many games as we can to get away from the bottom spots. But if we did end up in a play-off we would fancy our chances of winning.”
During his five months at Accies, Stubbs stood out as a young defender with tremendous ability. Good positional play and a strong communicator, he has been missed since he left seven weeks ago.
He was down in Largs at Hamilton’s winter-training camp when the call came to move abroad. He had a heart- to- heart with Rice and told his gaffer he wanted to try this new challenge.
He said: “I spoke to Brian Rice and explained my feelings to him. He was first-class about the situation.
“Moving to Holland has given me the opportunity to play in a different environment against different players and different systems. It’s been great for my education and a what a learning curve it’s been. “Regardless of where teams are in the league table, the one thing I’ve noticed is that all of the clubs are good up top. They all have strikers with the ability to score goals. “That means I am really tested every week. I can’t switch off for a second and my levels of concentration need to be really, really good.
“So, overall I am enjoying life in
Holland. We have excellent training facilities and the people have all been first-class.
“It’s now about doing our jobs properly and getting up the table. We are desperate for the club to preserve its top-flight status. It’s in our own hands at the moment and that is a positive.”
Stubbs will review his own situation at the end of the season. His current contract with Middlesbrough expires in the summer but the English side have the option to extend by one more season.
He is relaxed about where he will be in the next campaign and said: “I’ve had six or seven clubs in the past few years, so I wouldn’t mind going somewhere and I’m looking at putting roots down for two or three years.
“But what happens four or five months from now is not my concern. My focus is making sure I help ADO Den Haag. We will look at things after that and I can sit down with my agent and see what options are available.
“I’m enjoying the experience abroad and I’d never rule anything out. But I would imagine I’ll be back playing in the UK next season.
“A lot depends on what Middlesbrough decide to do and, once I know that, we can look at everything else more closely.”