Hamilton boss Billy Reid denies rumours linking him with Sheffield Wednesday.

Dec 17 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON boss Billy Reid this week shrugged off speculation linking him to the vacant Sheffield Wednesday hotseat.

The Championship strugglers recently parted company with manager Brian Laws and Reid was reported to be on the Owls’ shortlist.

But the New Douglas Park gaffer insists he’s going nowhere at the moment.

“There have been reports and I’ve had a lot of phonecalls about it but I’m loving it at Hamilton Accies and there’s no point in me commenting.

“I’ve got ambitions of managing at as high a level as possible, I’m the same as every player, and that should always be the case for everybody in life.

“If my name is linked to anything I can’t stop that but I love my job here, the relationship I have with the chairman and the backing I get from Ronnie MacDonald is something that I won’t get anywhere else. It’s like a father and son relationship to be honest – and sometimes he kicks my bum!

“Things are going well here and it’s not down to Billy Reid, it’s down to the whole staff here and I’ve got to stress that. If my name is linked it’s down to all of them because I believe the coaching staff I’ve got, physio team and kitman – everybody involved – is a wee happy family.”

Hamilton go into Saturday’s New Douglas Park clash against Dundee United with confidence, having taken full points from their last two games against Hearts and Aberdeen.

They may have to do so without goalkeeper Tomas Cerny though, who was the victim of a late challenge from Aberdeen striker Lee Miller on Saturday.

The Czech keeper is struggling to shake off a leg injury, although X-ray pictures revealed nothing was broken.

Reid said: “Tomas is sore. I don’t want to talk about it, everybody saw the tackle, and it’s in the past so I just hope he’s OK.

“He’s gone for an X-ray, there’s nothing broken, but he could be a doubt for Saturday.

“But we’ve got an able deputy in Sean Murdoch, so that doesn’t worry me.”

On the visit of United Reid said: “It’s always a tasty game and they’ll be gunning for us.

“United are a team who have been flying high at the top end of the table but they haven’t done well against us so I expect them to come right out the traps and they will be difficult opponents.

“People talk to me about avoiding relegation but I’ve never been like that – I always look at the team above us in the league.

“We’re two points behind Aberdeen and that’s got to give us motivation to try and get above them.”

Goals from Mickael Antoine-Curier and James Wesolowski gave Hamilton a brilliant 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie, which took Accies seven points clear of bottom side Falkirk, and two off the top six.

Reid feels the win was thoroughly merited and said: “It was a good performance and, over the 90 minutes the best team won. I think [Aberdeen boss] Mark McGhee said that we played well and deserved the win.

“It’s all credit to the players, they’ve worked really hard on the training field and I thought we had a group on Saturday who fought for the cause – there were no failures.

“I’ve said for weeks that we’re going in the right direction but we’re not going to get carried away because there’s a lot of hard work to be done.

“We’re now starting to get goals from the middle of the park, which is pleasing, through James McArthur, James Wesolowski and Simon Mensing, and if that continues then we’ll be fine.

“People are confident at the moment, they’re trying things, and we’re a goal threat.”

Reid is continuing his quest to secure the services of Antoine-Curier beyond his current loan deal, which ends on January 1.

The striker has weighed in with five goals and his performances have been excellent overall so Reid is obviously keen to keep him for longer.

He said: “Mickael has been sensational for us and I think he’s improving week by week.

“Mickael is chipping in with goals but he’s creating things as well, which is very important.

“He leads the line well for us up front on his own, which is a thankless task at times because he’s got to do everything, and he’s made a big difference.

“But I think he would be the first to admit that his team-mates work really hard for him.

“Can we keep Mickael? I certainly hope so, but it will depend on pounds and pennies.

“I hope that he will sign but we’ll need to wait and see.”

Either way, Reid has been delighted with his two loan signings this term, as Leicester midfielder Wesolowski has also been in excellent form.

Reid said: “Those two have been fantastic additions to the team and it’s good at the moment.

“Considering his finishing prowess in training it’s quite remarkable that James has only scored once in the league in his career, but his overall game is really good and he’s exactly what I want as a player.”

Hamilton last week released midfielder David Louhoungou (20), who made seven substitute appearances.

David was also capped three times for Congo while at Accies.