McLaughlin: We're ready for toughest test of the season

Nov 22 2007 By Andy McGilvray

MARK McLaughlin billed Saturday’s clash with Dundee as Hamilton’s toughest test yet, but insists they’re ready for the challenge.

Accies travel to Dens Park looking to open up a nine-point gap over second-placed Dundee but McLaughlin refuses to even entertain that notion.

The big defender is just so focused on the game that he won’t consider possible repercussions until after the dust has settled.

McLaughlin (31), scored when Hamilton beat Dundee 2-0 at New Douglas Park in October but he expects a totally different game this time round.

He said: “The Dundee game is massive for us and we are looking forward to it.

“We go into it with a six-point lead but it’s a long season. We take it a game at a time and don’t look any further ahead than that.

“Nine points would be a big gap but there’s no use in thinking that way just now. We know it’s going to be a hard game. They’re a very good side and we know they’re going to be up there at the end of the season — hopefully with ourselves ahead of them.

“We won 2-0 in the last game but this will be completely different.

“Judging by their formation, I think Dundee came here probably looking for a draw but they’re at home for this one and will come out and attack.

“Hopefully we can go there and get the result. We’ll certainly go into the game with confidence and see where we are after it.”

McLaughlin says self-belief has helped Accies get to the top of the table.

He said: “Before the season started, nobody was saying that we would be there or thereabouts, but we’ve got a good side and more importantly, we believe we’ve got a good side.”

Having lost 2-1 at Queen of the South on November 3 — when McLaughlin scored an unfortunate own-goal — the defender knows how important it was that Hamilton defeated Partick Thistle 2-0 in their last game. At 1-0, nerves were showing until Chris Swailes sealed the points with a second-half header.

McLaughlin said: “Thistle came here after winning the week before and they were on a high so I was delighted that we got the three points.

“In the first half, we could probably have been two or three up. We knocked the ball about and played some decent football but we didn’t start well in the second half.

“We were lumping it long instead of getting the ball down and playing but we got back into the game and it was a great header from big Swas to make it 2-0.”