Raging Reid wants much better show

Oct 4 2007 By Andy McGilvray

RAGING Hamilton boss Billy Reid this week demanded total improvement from his side ahead of Saturday’s First Division crunch against second-placed Dundee.

Accies’ unbeaten record was dramatically halted on Saturday as St Johnstone ran out 4-1 winners at McDiarmid Park.

Reid wants his side to immediately return to the standard they’ve set for themselves.

He said: “Saturday’s game against Dundee was always going to be hugely important for us and I said before that it’s part of a three-game spell that is huge for the club.

“There has got to be a huge improvement in our performance from Saturday.

“We don’t become a bad team overnight but I’ve said to the players that the victory against Kilmarnock was always going to be a very different game from St Johnstone.

“We went to McDiarmid Park with confidence and expected to win the game — maybe it was a wee bit of a shock for us.

“We said at half-time that we weren’t happy with how we were playing.

“We were giving them far too much respect and too much possession.

“St Johnstone got it too easy in the second half. We were soft, we didn’t compete enough, and to win football matches you need six or seven players to stand up and be counted. We didn’t get that.”

Reid added: “We’ve got to do better all over the park and particularly up front because I don’t think our front three did enough.

“In the middle of the park we were out-fought and at times I thought we were bullied at the back.

“We didn’t play as well as we can, and to win football matches at places like McDiarmid Park you’ve got to do more than we did.

“We didn’t defend properly, we got caught out for a penalty, and the rot set in.

“But it’s early in the season. We’re happy to be up at the top end of the table and we’re at home on Saturday. Our home form has been good this season but we’ve got a lot of work to do to put things right.”

Captain Alex Neil missed Saturday’s game and Reid believes that was a huge blow but he also wonders if people expect too much of his kids.

He said: “We missed Alex Neil hugely in the middle of the park and I think it showed that he’s the guy that keeps it together.

“We’ve got young guys in our team and with that you get a wee bit of inconsistency.

“I’m not one to make excuses, but we’ve got to win football matches and sometimes you’ve got to remember what age they are. People expect a lot from them.

“We want to win the game against Dundee and go four points clear but they’ll also hope to take something.

“It’s a game people should enjoy, it’s first v second, and it should make for an interesting afternoon.”