Accies boss hopes his side can shock Rangers

Sep 9 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

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HAMILTON boss Billy Reid reckons his side can cause an upset in Saturday’s lunchtime clash with Rangers – but warned his men they need to be on top form.

Reid knows Rangers are red-hot favourites to take the three points from New Douglas Park, but at the very least he wants Accies to make life difficult for the defending SPL champions.

With the addition of the versatile Jim Goodwin and striker Damian Casalinuovo in the past week, the New Douglas Park gaffer believes his side is far stronger than that which has started the first three league matches.

And if they cut out mistakes and don’t concede any penalties, Reid believes Hamilton can do well.

He said: “We’re going to have to be solid when we play against Rangers. We’re going to have to be experienced in the right areas of the park and we’ll need winners on the pitch. If we can do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“The bookies will have Rangers as massive favourites to win but last season we weren’t too far away.

“However, I’m sure they will come here knowing they won’t get it easy.

“Last season, we acquitted ourselves really well against the Old Firm. We got a couple of heavy defeats early on but learned from that and our performance at Ibrox at the end of the season was exceptional.

“Ultimately we were beaten 1-0 but we felt we should have taken something on the day.

“We’ve got to make sure we perform on Saturday and keep our shape at all times. We can’t give away penalties or do anything silly – that’s what has killed us so far this season.

“We want to make sure we keep Kenny Miller quiet – he is on top form. A few of them were away with Scotland in midweek, so this might be a good time to get Rangers.”

Reid is pleased with the squad he has now assembled and urged his new additions to build on the performance in Hamilton’s 1-0 win at Inverness two weeks ago.

He said: “These games are great for players – it’s live on TV and it’s against Rangers. It’s a massive game and the type players want to play in.

“You can tell in training that they know what the game is all about, everyone wants to get involved in it, and that keeps people on their toes.

“A few people knocked on the door a couple of weeks ago but this is a completely different game.”

Accies could hand debuts to new recruits Casalinuovo and Irish cap Goodwin, who can play in either defence or midfield.

Reid said: “Jim was at Celtic as a kid, left early and went down south to play for Stockport and Scunthorpe, went to Huddersfield a couple of years ago and it didn’t work out for him.

“He’s the right type. If we play 4-3-3, Jim can play right full-back at a push, he can play in the middle of the three and in the middle of four in midfield and match up with people.

“Jim has good height, he’s a talker and organiser, he’s very versatile, in the mould of Alex Neil, and with Alex out at the moment it’s an interesting signing for us.

“I’m fairly happy with what we’ve got; we have a decent-sized squad but I’ll say it again – we need our key players on the park.

“We’re always stronger with Alex Neil and Mark McLaughlin, and we’ve got Martin Canning back from suspension and David Elebert to come back in as well, which would make us stronger again.

“When you add Casalinuovo and Goodwin to that squad, and the fact that Nigel Hasselbaink has come in, we’re a lot stronger than we were in the first few games of the season.”

Defenders McLaughlin and Elebert returned to training this week, but are unlikely to be involved against Rangers.

lSaturday’s SPL clash with Rangers at New Douglas Park kicks off at 12noon and is live on ESPN.