Reid hails young stars and urges: go do that again

Sep 27 2007 By Andy McGilvray

HAMILTON boss Billy Reid admitted he was so proud of his side’s sensational midweek CIS Cup third round win over Kilmarnock that he was left speechless.

But he immediately told his young side to get their feet back on the ground ahead of Saturday’s clash at St Johnstone.

Reid has always said the First Division championship is his priority this season, and is wary of his young side getting carried away by what has been an astounding start to the season.

The latest chapter of that came on Tuesday at New Douglas Park when goals by James McCarthy and James McArthur sent last season’s CIS Cup finalists spinning out of the competition.

And Reid said: “I was speechless — I knew we were progressing in the right manner but I thought we were sensational right from 1 to 11 and the subs that came on... and from the first minute to the last.

“Maybe things are changing at Hamilton Accies; it’s a nice feeling but we’ll keep our feet on the ground here.

“It was a young, young side. We took a chance and made a few changes against good Premier League opposition and I thought we were worthy winners.

“We could have scored more goals and I don’t think anybody who watched the game could doubt that.

“All in all it was a fantastic performance and I can’t speak any more highly of my players.

“But it’s a one-off game and we’re not going to get carried away.

“We go to St Johnstone on Saturday and it’s a different game altogether. We’ve got to settle down again and try to get up for the game.

“That is going to be really difficult after that result but it’s my job to make sure the players’ feet are on the ground.”

Reid feels Tuesday’s win will give his side even more belief and hopes it makes up for Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Livingston.

And he said: “I’ve said all along about how special I feel the dressing room is at the moment and I think that showed in the spirit of the team.

“We already had confidence — you can see that in our start to the season because we’re winning football matches.

“We were really disappointed after Saturday. We’ve worked hard to try to rectify some of the things that went wrong and I think you saw the benefits of that.”

On Saturday’s New Douglas Park draw with Livingston, after assistant manager Stuart Taylor had given Accies a first-half lead, Reid said: “We were disappointed but I just want my players to give me everything and I don’t think there was a single player on that park who didn’t.

“Overall a draw was probably a fair result, but you only need to look at results elsewhere to realise that every point is a prisoner in this league.”

Reid pointed to a tough schedule that sees Hamilton entertain second-placed Dundee before travelling to face Dunfermline at East End Park on October 20.

He said: “The next three games are going to be massive for us and if we can come through these unscathed then we’ll be in a healthy position.

“It’s a huge time for everybody at the club. We need to stay together and the one thing I guarantee our fans is that the players will give them everything.”