Hamilton Accies boss tells players to "turn the screw"

Mar 27 2008

HAMILTON boss Billy Reid this week told his side to turn the screw as their title bid goes down to the last five games.

That vital period starts with the visit of Partick Thistle on Saturday, and Reid knows his side faces a tough test.

He said: “This is the time to really turn the screw, and the players know that.

“Everything is focused on trying to win the championship and we’ve got one hand on the title, but there is a lot of work to be done yet and if any complacency creeps in I guarantee we’ll get punished for it.

“Partick have a healthy number of points and they’ll want to finish as high up in the league as possible; we take nothing for granted in this league because any team is capable of beating any other.

“We’ll give Thistle the utmost respect but that’s what we do, especially at home.

“We’ve got good players at this club, we’ve proven that all season, and with five games to go if we continue to do well it will take us to the championship.”

Reid was delighted with Saturday’s 1-0 away win over Stirling – courtesy of James McCarthy’s early winner – and felt the points were deserved.

He said: “Stirling are fighting for their lives and they made it hard for us, but I think over the 90 minutes we deserved to win the game.

“It wasn’t our best performance of the season by any means, but at this stage it’s about trying to win football matches, and we did that.

“We controlled the first half and I was delighted with James; he had been champing at the bit to play and he’s a fantastic young player.

“Some of his touches were brilliant and he scored a fantastic goal with a great first-time finish. He’s been a big player, he’s scored seven goals in his debut season, and that is fantastic.”

Captain Alex Neil and defenders Mark McLaughlin and David Elebert have picked up knocks, but Reid expects them to be fit for Saturday. However, midfielder Simon Mensing sits out as he completes his two-match suspension.

Picture by Andy Clinton