Injury blow hits accies

Aug 28 2008 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON have been dealt a major blow with news that defender Mark McLaughlin will be out for at least eight weeks after suffering a medial ligament injury.

Influential McLaughlin (32), who had formed a formidable defensive partnership with Chris Swailes, limped off after 50 minutes of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock.

Captain Alex Neil also suffered a broken nose in the Rugby Park clash, but is likely to face-off against Hearts at New Douglas Park on Saturday, after sitting out Tuesday’s 3-1 Co-operative Insurance Cup win over Clyde.

A minor knock kept striker Richard Offiong out of Tuesday’s action while David Graham was suspended, but both are likely to be involved against Csaba Laszlo’s men.

However, it’s the injury to McLaughlin that is causing most concern for boss Billy Reid.

He said: “It’s gut-wrenching for me, but especially him as I’ve seen how hard he’s worked in pre-season. I’ve got Mark in the best shape of his life and I mean that.

“I’ve worked with Mark since we were at Clyde nine years ago and he’s in better condition now than he’s ever been.

“For this to happen to Mark is so disappointing for him and the club.”

Reid was delighted that his side overcame a stubborn Clyde side in Tuesday’s Co-operative Insurance Cup second round tie at New Douglas Park.

He said: “The most important thing was that we got through. We’ve been there before, it can get nervy, and the break of the ball can go against you.

“I warned the players before the game that in the eight ties played on Tuesday night there would be an upset, and to make sure it wasn’t us.

“We weren’t at our best and I think you’ve got to give Clyde a bit of credit, but over the 90 minutes we deserved to win.

“We dropped our standards a little bit but that’s just the nature of the beast when they’re coming down from the highs of beating Dundee United and Inverness, and that’s no disrespect to Clyde who battled away well.

“But the important thing is that we showed our class at the end, and that’s why we’re now an SPL club.”

A James Grady header, Joel Thomas’s thundering debut strike and a late Tony Stevenson penalty put Accies into Monday’s draw but may also have given boss Reid a selection dilemma for Saturday’s clash with Hearts.

Reid is aware that the Tynecastle side will be favourites, but is confident that his side can cause another upset.

He said: “Certain pundits might expect Hearts to come here and win, but that’s not the case in our eyes and they probably thought the same about Dundee United on the opening day.

“Hearts have some good players but so do we. We’re the home side, our form is good, so we’ll be looking to maintain that, go at them and win the football match.

“If we play to our potential then we can take something from the game.”

Reid knows an improvement on their last league performance is needed, and admits Accies didn’t deserve to take anything from Kilmarnock last weekend.

He said: “I don’t think we did enough to win the game. We didn’t create much, and it was just one of those games where things didn’t go right – but you’ve got to earn that right, to be fair.

“I didn’t think there was much between the teams in the first half and I thought we were going in quite comfortably at 0-0 and then they scored.

“It looked like a foul on Alex Neil, who was pushed into Tomas Cerny, but we were left 1-0 down with the last kick of the ball.

“We asked them for a response, I thought we started really well in the second half, but over the 90 minutes we didn’t test their goalkeeper enough, so we probably didn’t deserve anything out of the game.”

With an eye on the transfer window’s closure on Monday Reid isn’t quite finished wheeling and dealing, and hinted that more new faces could be coming in.

He said: “The window’s coming up and we’re looking at one or two wee options, so watch this space.”

Midfielder James McCarthy (17), has been selected for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for their UEFA qualifiers away to Bulgaria in Sofia on Friday, September 5, and Portugal in Madeira on September 9.