Louis plays Long game towin overAccies boss
HAMILTON winger Louis Longridge may consider going back out on loan should his prospects of first-team football under Martin Canning not improve.
After returning from a loan spell at Raith Rovers in the second half of last season, Longridge started this campaign in great form, bagging three goals and a number of assists as he finally looked to be making his mark.
But having now failed to feature even off the bench since the draw against Kilmarnock on Bonfire Night, Longridge isn’t ruling out the possibility of going out on loan again.
“Obviously if you go through a long spell of not playing football the main thing you want to do is get back playing, so you have to take everything into consideration,” Longridge said.
“I haven’t reached the stage of thinking about going out on loan again because I’ve been training well and showing the gaffer that I’m desperate to get back into the team.
“When he has spoken to me he’s made me well aware that I am in his plans and he can understand where my frustrations lie.
“He’s told me though just to work hard and hopefully I’ll be able to turn things around. I have to show him that I’m too good to leave out.”
It was a change of shape from his manager back in November that left the winger out in the cold, and he admits it is frustrating for him to be left kicking his heels through no fault of his own.
Particularly when Longridge appeared to be in the midst of ar- guably his best run of form in a Hamilton jersey.
“It’s a hard one because I didn’t really know how to take it at first with it being nothing to do with my performances,” he said.
“I’ve shown since the start of the season that I’ve got a good return for goals and assists, so it was a hard one to take.
“But every day and every week I’m just trying to show the manager he should be putting me in his starting eleven.
“December is a busy month and he’ll need to use everyone in the squad. Hopefully I can get in and maybe get a start in there.
“I spoke to the gaffer about it because I went away to Raith and I felt I came back stronger and fitter and had contributed in the games I played at the start of the season.
“To be told that it was nothing to do with how my performances were going but that it was a simple tactical decision was very frustrating for me. If that’s the decision he makes it’s just down to me to get back into the team and when I do, take my chance.”
ADIFFICULT run for Accies kicks off at Inverness this afternoon, and while Longridge hopes to be involved, his bigger concern is the team coming back down the road with three points.
The need to do so is drawn sharply into focus when you consider that the rest of December sees Hamilton take on Celtic twice, Aberdeen and Lanarkshire rivals Motherwell.
“The most important games are against the teams around about us,” he said. “If you get points from the top three or four teams then it’s a bit of a bonus.”