Money set to talk as Accies look likely to struggle once again
OVERVIEW
YOU have to admire Hamilton for the fighting spirit they demonstrated in making sure they retained their Premiership place.
But they are handicapped by the wage cap which sees him lose decent players on a regular basis with Ziggy Gordon, who has joined Partick Thistle, just the latest example.
So, although Massimo Donati is a decent signing, I believe they will have it tough once again.
MOST-IMPORTANT PLAYER
ALI CRAWFORD can help Accies prove me wrong once again by staying clear of the automatic relegation spot. This will be the third year I have tipped Accies to go down, and my failure rate of 0 out of 2 so far has me almost embarrassed to put them in again.
They have been impressive in proving predictions wide of the mark, so who knows? Maybe I am helping incentivise them!
I do believe, though, that in Crawford they have an absolutely outstanding attacking player.
He is massively important to the Lanarkshire club because when he plays well, they can win games.
They have done really well to hang on to him because I am sure bigger clubs have had a close look with a view to snapping him up.
If he can form a partnership with new arrival Donati, ex of AC Milan and a man who once scored a Champions League group stage winner for Celtic against Shakhtar Donetsk, they could be hard to stop.
MANAGER
I AM glad Martin Canning has stayed in his job because he has a real tough shift with the resources he has available to him.
Accies have a tradition of doing very well in terms of developing kids who go onto better things, with James McArthur, James McCarthy and Craig Easton three obvious examples.
That is great in terms of attracting a high standard of kids to the club, with parents knowing they will get earlier access to first team football at New Douglas Park than they would, say, at Celtic Park or Ibrox.
Canning, former assistant to Alex Neil before he left for Norwich City, has embraced his responsibility to promote youth.
FINISHING POSITION
TWELFTH – but they might prove me wrong once again and beat the drop.