Billy Reid praises Hamilton Accies for performance against Celtic

Oct 29 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

BILLY Reid praised his side for their performance against Celtic but said it’s pointless if they don’t take it into Saturday’s clash at St Mirren Park.

Accies travel to Paisley this weekend for the first of four crunch clashes that also see Motherwell visit the following weekend before Hamilton are on the road at Falkirk and St Johnstone.

Reid said: “The next four games are crucial for us, against teams that are round about us.

“Every game is difficult, there’s not a lot between the sides, and it’s a fine line – I think that was even the case on Sunday.

“We want to win, get some points, pull away from the bottom of the table, and we’re capable of doing that – but we must play the way we did on Sunday.

“There’s no point in doing it at Tannadice and against Celtic but then not playing well in the next game.

“I think we’re looking really fit and the players are now doing what I ask of them, they’re working really hard, and as long as they keep doing that I think we’ll be fine.”

Reid said he couldn’t ask any more of his side following Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat against league-leaders Celtic, in which they nearly snatched a last-gasp equaliser.

He said: “We tried really hard and we were a wee bit disappointed to go 2-0 down because we felt as though we weren’t really that far behind at stages of the game. We were on the ascendency at times, got our goal and I think we deserved it at the time.

“We then threw everything at Celtic and had a chance when James McArthur was one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

“He’s hit the target, the goalkeeper’s saved it, and on another day if it goes in we get a point.

“But we’re moving in the right direction.”

Reid hopes to keep goal hero Mickael Antoine-Curier at the club and will look to secure a deal with Dundee in January.

He said: “Mickael is the type of player we want at the club. The one thing I think he lets himself down with sometimes is that he finds it difficult up front on his own, and if you let it get to you you’re chasing lost causes.

“But I’ve told him that he will score goals here.”