Accies boss Reid is confident about new signings

Sep 3 2009 by Will Henshaw, Hamilton Advertiser

ACCIES boss Billy Reid is confident his new signings can help stabilise the squad following a less than encouraging start in the SPL.

Reid secured the services of defender Richie Hastings and striker Mickael Antoine-Curier before the close of the transfer window on September 1.

Hamilton currently sit bottom of the table having lost all three of their SPL games and were dealt another heavy defeat when they were beaten 4-1 by champions Rangers on Saturday.

Despite the scoreline, Reid insists there were some signs of encouragement that he took from the game. He said: “I thought there were some positive signs on Saturday.

“I thought we had a wee bit of shape about us for the first time this season and I think the players took a little bit of confidence from it.

“We’re obviously disappointed to get beaten but I feel as though we’re a lot better equipped now than what we have been.

“We’ve had a lot of problems and we’ve now got a squad of players to work with and you’ll see a different Accies team in the next few weeks.”

Antoine-Curier is one player who Reid is very excited about. The French striker already has experience of playing in the SPL with Hibs and boasts a prolific goalscoring record at Dundee with 26 goals from 46 games. The strong forward is on loan from Dens Park until January and Reid is hoping that he can deliver.

He said: “His goalscoring record is exceptional. He’s already played in the premier league, he played eight games for Hibs and scored four goals so he’s a proven goalscorer.

“We’re going to give him a platform to show he can score goals. It’s up to us to make the chances and it’s up to Antoine-Curier to show the right attitude and hopefully win a longer contract at our place.”

With the departure of Luis Rubiales Billy has shored up his defence with Hastings.

The Canadian, who has had two lengthy spells at Inverness Caley Thistle as well as stints in Austria and Holland, has joined on a contract until the end of the season.

Reid admits that his side have made mistakes which have cost them cheap goals, and is hoping Hastings can help rectify the defensive situation.

He added: “We’ve tried a few things in terms of experienced foreign players and I wasn’t happy. Things didn’t work out and one thing about this club is if things aren’t working out then we’ll change them. We’ve done that and brought in Richie.

“He’s got a wealth of experience and hopefully he’ll help to stabilise things at the back.

“We have to start picking up points and be more solid at the back, one thing I’ve been disappointed is the shape of the team. We’ve been making cheap mistakes and we have to cut that out if we’re going to start picking up points in the SPL.

“Hastings is a replacement for Luis Rubiales, he’s a left full-back who can also play left centre-back which is a plus.

“Hopefully he can help solidify things for us.”

English defender Izzy Iriekpen has parted ways with the club after family problems.

In a statement on the club’s website Izzy admitted his family were struggling to adapt to life in Scotland and that himself and Billy Reid had reached an agreement for him to leave the club.

Billy added: “Sometimes in football things don’t work out and it didn’t work out with Izzy. He’ll move with our best wishes and it’s just something we’ll have to move on from.

“He didn’t play particularly well at the back in the first few games of the season and we had to address that as well.”

With the international break coming up, the New Douglas Park boss insists the break will do his players good after a hectic preseason.

He concluded: “We’ve needed that. The whole preseason was topsy-turvy in terms of players at different stages.

“We’re working on things all the time and we will get better.”