ACCIES MUST GET BETTER
Canning unhappy with performances this season
Martin Canning has demanded a major improvement from his Hamilton side as they head into the last game of the season at Motherwell.
Accies all-but secured Premiership status for a record fifth successive season on Tuesday, but in defeat as they lost 2-1 at home to St Johnstone while rivals Partick Thistle and Ross County also lost.
That leaves Canning’s side in a position where they can’t be overtaken on points by Thistle and it would take a 14-goal swing to land them in the playoff.
Should Accies remain in the top flight – which looks likely – Canning says it would be a major achievement in a season that has been difficult for everybody at the club.
They’ve lost players such as Greg Docherty, Ioannis Skondras and Michael Devlin, while the club were scammed of nearly £1million and their main sponsor Superseal went bust.
Canning had mixed emotions after the game, but the sense of disappointment was palpable.
He said: “Ultimately, if we can get over the line on Saturday and stay in the league, given everything that has happened this year – the turnover of players we’ve had, the club losing near enough £1million – it would be a big achievement.
“It has been a really difficult year for everybody, and everybody would deserve massive credit right from the top down. Everybody works extremely hard here to keep us competitive in this league.
“The focus is now on Saturday; we need to try and put in a performance and try to win a derby game. If we can get something from that game it guarantees safety. We need to make sure we get the job done.”
Canning still wants improvement, though, and hopes that starts at Fir Park on Saturday.
“For me you always want more,” he said, “and I want us to be better than we’ve been for the last 10 games or so.
“We had put ourselves into a good position, and we should have done better than we have.
“I saw the Premiership tables all throughout the season and we’ve never been bottom all season.
“I think we spent four weeks in the play-off spot, but most of the season we’ve been ninth or 10th, so we want to improve on that, if we can, and that’s why I’m disappointed that we haven’t managed to win that game.
“It’s a strange feeling. We weren’t so comfortable in the game, but we were the team on top, if you like. We were creating opportunities and looked like we were going to score, and then one long ball up the park and we end up 1-0 down.
“That’s so frustrating, because the amount of goals we’ve conceded this season isn’t good enough, and that’s something we have to work hard to address.”