SHOW OF FAITH
Canning: It’s time to back Devlin, not abuse him
MARTIN CANNING is backing Michael Devlin to lead Hamilton’s fight to stay in the top flight as he rounded on the ‘unacceptable’ abuse his captain was subjected to by an irate Accies fan.
Devlin became embroiled in a heated exchange with a home supporter as he left the field following Saturday’s defeat to Motherwell, which left Canning’s side in the relegation playoff place with two games remaining.
The player’s father also reacted to the vitriol directed at his son, while Devlin’s mother and sister were ushered away by club staff.
Canning discussed the upsetting incident with the centre-back as part of a Sunday debrief, with Accies’ security staff identifying the fan involved. And, speaking ahead of tonight’s must-win visit to Ross County, the Hamilton manager insisted a line had been crossed.
‘It’s one fan who has let himself down by getting personal with a player,’ said Canning. ‘That should never happen. I thought Michael was excellent in the game. He won everything and he was dominant, he defended really well.
‘I don’t know where it came from, or if it was a personal thing, I just know it shouldn’t have happened. It was disappointing.
‘At different points of the season I’ve taken it, and as a manager you kind of expect it.
‘But the players are out there working their socks off week-in, week-out. We’re a small club and the boys do a fantastic job.
‘They work so hard and compete against guys at a higher level than they are and at bigger clubs.
‘They don’t expect and won’t accept getting abused when they are coming off a pitch, and neither will I, for putting in an honest, hard-working shift.
‘It’s even harder to take when it’s someone like Michael. He’s the captain, but regardless of who it was, I wouldn’t care.
‘If fans feel they are getting short-changed by the effort on the pitch, I could accept a little bit from the stands. It’s part of the game.
‘But one thing you could never accuse our players of is not giving everything for the club. That is something we’ve had since I’ve been here.
‘Every player since I’ve come in, the first thing I look at is their attitude and mentality. We are a small club and we’ve got to have warriors and fighters, and that is what we’ve got out on the pitch.
‘It’s disappointing if somebody lets the fans down and does something like that. If you go around 99 per cent of them, they get behind the team and they want us to do well and they want us to win. They back the team.’ Canning admits unity between fans and players is essential as Hamilton enter a deciding period for their topflight status. They could be condemned to a play-off tonight if they fail to defeat County and neighbours Motherwell win against Kilmarnock. However, their superior goal difference means a positive three-point swing would see Accies leapfrog their Lanarkshire rivals again. ‘I wouldn’t say the fans have unrealistic expectations, because regardless of what league you’re in or what club you’re at, they want their team to win,’ continued Canning.
‘You could put us in the Champions League and the fans would want us to go and win the game, that’s just fans.
‘They want to see us winning games and, to be honest, we’re capable of beating the likes of Motherwell and Kilmarnock, so they are within their rights to expect us to go out and win.
‘Sometimes it doesn’t happen. That’s football, there’s got to be a winner and a loser.
‘If it is through a lack of effort, then I can understand the fans’ disappointment, but I don’t think that’s something you can ever say about our players.
‘That’s why it is important that everybody at this stage sticks together — the fans, the players, the staff and the club.
‘There has to be a line between frustration and personal abuse, and this fan has overstepped the line, that’s why we’ll deal with it.’
Hamilton picked up eight points in four games prior to the split, but have lost all three of their bottom-six fixtures to be left in a perilous position.
‘I have said to the players that it’s not a huge mountain to climb,’ added Canning. ‘It can change, and it has done week-to-week all season in this league.
‘If Motherwell lose on Tuesday and we win we go above them, so it’s not as if there’s four or five points that we need to overcome or need to win both our games and hope they lose both of theirs.
‘One game can make such a difference and just imagine the feeling later in the week when I’m speaking to you if they have lost and we have won.
‘That’s how we’ve got to think and that’s how tight it is.’