Loss to local rivals leaves skipper angry

May 21 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON captain Alex Neil admitted the club’s SPL survival hadn’t sunk in after Saturday’s game... because he was still raging about the 3-0 derby defeat by Motherwell.

Neil cut a dejected figure on the pitch after the game, and insists he only thinks about the last game rather than the whole season.

He said: “That was the strangest emotion I’ve had in football.

“We didn’t do our job and it was really disappointing to lose 3-0 at home – I can’t really say anything about it at the moment.

“It’s great for us to stay up, that’s what we wanted going into the game because we knew getting the result would have kept us in the SPL, but we didn’t do our part and Kilmarnock, thankfully, did us a massive favour.

“It’s a bitter-sweet moment because at the end of the day we’ve done what we set out to achieve, but it’s really disappointing to lose like that, especially against your local rivals.”

Neil added: “There was a lot of disappointment in the changing room and it was a strange mixture of emotions.

“We’re pleased but... people say it’s over the 38 games but when you’re a professional you don’t look at that, you look at the game you’ve just played and to get beaten 3-0 was really disappointing.

“I think if you speak to some of the other lads they might look on it in a different way but as far as I’m concerned I just look at the game we’ve just played and I was really disappointed in the manner in which we lost.

“There didn’t seem to be as much urgency as I would have liked – especially in a game of that magnitude – but we knew what we needed to do, we’ve done it now, and, hopefully, we can build for next year.”

Midfield ace Neil warned Saturday’s opponents St Mirren that Hamilton will have a point to prove after the disappointing derby defeat.

He said: “I think we have got a point to prove against St Mirren – after that we’ve got to go and highlight that we’re a better side than we showed on Saturday.

“We deserve our place in the SPL and we’ve earned it by beating other teams, but the last two games were disappointing.

“It’s a great feeling to still be in the SPL and it’s something I’ll probably think about later on, but I’m still a bit angry about the game.”