Accies gaffer Billy Reid pushes team for win over Hearts

Sep 24 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

BILLY Reid this week told his Hamilton side they can break Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday if they stand up and be counted.

The boss is looking for his players to take responsibility on the ball and be more potent up front, and he wants that to start in Edinburgh.

Reid knows the onus is on Csaba Laszlo’s men and wants Accies to frustrate the Jambos.

He said: “I would say to my players to take responsibility on the ball.

“There will be a decent crowd there and I want them to stand up and be counted.

“We’ve kept clean sheets in our last two games and that’s important for us because in this league you don’t want to give anything away cheaply – if they’re going to score, make them work for it.

“But we’ve also got to be more of a threat at the other end.

“I’ve watched Hearts against Kilmarnock and I’ll get another chance in their cup game against Dunfermline tonight (Wednesday).

“Hearts are a decent side, they’re disappointed in the start they’ve made to the season, and that will make them dangerous.

“They’ve got Laryea Kingston back in the fold, and that will give them more firepower.”

Reid added: “It’s a tight league, you can see that from results so far across the board, so there’s not much between the teams and we need to exploit that.

“We’ve got nothing to fear going to Tynecastle, and in our one game there last season when we lost 1-0 I thought we were unlucky not to draw.

“The expectation is all on them to deliver and we can frustrate them, but we need to put in the same performance as we did against Hibs two weeks ago.”

Reid was disappointed in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Falkirk, but particularly due to a cruciate ligament injury that will sideline striker Derek Lyle for the rest of the season.

The former Dundee hitman goes in for an operation today (Thursday), with everybody concerned wishing him every success.

Reid said: “My only thoughts after the game were with Derek Lyle; he did his cruciate ligament and sometimes when players see that happening to their mate it can knock the stuffing out of them.

“That’s not an excuse for how we played, but the players knew right away that it was serious – and it will keep him out for the rest of the season.

“I’m devastated for the lad because he had started the season really well and nailed a position down – my heart goes out to him and his family.”

Reid said on the game: “It was a point earned.

“We didn’t play anywhere near the standard we set the previous week against Hibs and credit to Falkirk.

“There are positives to be taken from the game in that we kept a clean sheet, didn’t play particularly well and picked up a point.

“Normally, playing against Falkirk at home, I would be disappointed with a draw but I can’t say that this time; they were the better team in the first half by far and we were lucky to go in 0-0 at half-time.

“We were a bit better in the second half without being anything special, so we take the point and move on.”

Better news for Hamilton is that captain Alex Neil is at stage three of his rehabilitation programme, and Reid hopes to have the influential midfielder back in action at the start of November.