May day key to survival, stresses Rice
Brian Rice is pleased to see Hamilton Accies move off the bottom of the Premiership table but admits it means nothing in March.
A battling display at Pittodrie was certainly good enough to earn the point that takes the Lanarkshire side above Kilmarnock into 11th place.
And they have the chance to increase that advantage when they make up their game-in-hand over the Rugby Park outfit at Livingston on Saturday.
Hamilton have made a habit of finding a way to survive during seven seasons back in the top flight of Scottish football.
Now draws at home to St Johnstone and away to Aberdeen in the space of four tough days gives their manager confidence of another great escape.
However Rice knows not to take anything for granted and said: “We’re off the bottom and while that is nice it doesn’t really mean too much at this minute in time.
“It’s the middle of May that we need to be off the bottom but it is a step in the right direction.
“It’s been a tough four days against a St Johnstone side that has just won the cup but we got a point.
“Then for Hamilton to come up here to get a draw and a clean sheet is difficult at Pittodrie at the best of times.
“That is a real achievement and that point is really most welcome.
“We play Livingston away next week. We beat them earlier in the season and they beat us convincingly at Hamilton, but we are a different animal now.”
Accies could have had a chance to win the game had they got a penalty in the second half when Scott Martin’s shot seemed to strike Andrew Considine’s on the arm.
Referee Bobby Madden waved away claims but Rice was in a more forgiving mood than he might have been had the Dons gone on to win.
He added: “I don’t want to speak too much about the officials because Bobby is a good referee.
“But we’ve been on the end of a couple of dubious decisions, let’s say, in the last couple of weeks.
“So let’s hope it balances itself out over the next couple of weeks. We can’t do anything about it. We just move on.”
On the downside Nathan Thomas went off injured in the first half, while Brian Easton gave way in the second period after his studs caught in the turf.