Hamilton boss Billy Reid won’t hit the panic button after Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Aberdeen.

Aug 19 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON boss Billy Reid this week urged for patience to be shown in his rebuilt side following Saturday’s 4-0 defeat against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Accies started the game in the Granite City missing up to seven key players from last season.

Debuts were handed to Jack Ross, Gavin Skelton, David Buchanan and Gary McDonald, while fellow new boys Joel Thomas and Jon Routledge came off the bench.

On top of the five who left last season – Trent McClenahan, Brian Easton, James Wesolowski, James McArthur and Mickael Antoine-Curier – Accies were minus crocked skipper Alex Neil and injured defensive duo Mark McLaughlin and David Elebert.

Ross endured a nightmare debut, conceding two of Aberdeen’s three penalties as the Reds ran riot, but Reid said it wasn’t a problem of players not gelling into a team.

He said: “People can think what they like, but I think it’s too early to say we’re panicking.

“We’re still just out of pre-season and we didn’t get off to the best start, but we’ve been there before.

“We’re a few players short just now and some others need time to settle in – we’re trying our best to help them do that.

“Saturday’s defeat wasn’t about the team not gelling, it was because individual players made mistakes and got punished for them.”

Reid made no excuses for the defeat at Pittodrie and felt it was just one of those days.

He said: “We started the game well, took the game to Aberdeen, but when they got the first goal I think it knocked us back a bit.

“We’ve had a look at the video and I have no complaints about the penalties Aberdeen got – they were all stonewallers.

“We made mistakes and if you concede three penalties it’s always going to be impossible to win the game.

“While there was maybe a wee bit of bad luck involved, it’s important that we learn from what happened.

“We need to limit the amount of mistakes we’re making and try to get back to scoring goals, like we did last season.”

Accies head into Saturday’s lunchtime showdown with Hearts at New Douglas Park with similar injury problems as last weekend.

But they played Queen of the South in a practice game on Tuesday, winning 3-0 against the Dumfries side.

Reid said: “We beat them 3-0 but the score was irrelevant, it was all about getting game-time for players.

“Gary McDonald got another 60 minutes, Derek Lyle and Jim McAlister got 90, and Sean Murdoch, Andy Graham and a few others got some time on the park.”

Reid hopes his side can bounce back against Jim Jefferies’ Hearts on Saturday, and expects a reaction from his players.

He said: “We’re the home side, we want to take the game to Hearts and we want to win.

“Their new signings Kevin Kyle and Stephen Elliott started on the bench last Saturday but came on and if they’re fit to play against us then that will make them stronger again.

“Like Aberdeen, Hearts are a huge club so we’ll show them every respect, but we beat them at New Douglas Park last season and hopefully we can do it again.”

Accies go into the game still with major doubts over Mark McLaughlin and David Elebert, while captain Alex Neil will be out for at least another fortnight as he recovers from hip surgery.

The game kicks-off at noon to accommodate live televised coverage on ESPN.