Imrie: Do not to underestimate Alloa in Scottish Cup tie

Jan 6 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON winger Dougie Imrie warned his side not to underestimate Alloa Athletic in Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth round clash.

Bossed by former Accies manager Allan Maitland, Alloa are currently fourth in the Second Division and will arrive at New Douglas Park full of confidence.

Imrie points out that Accies have already been dumped out of the Co-operative Insurance Cup by First Division Raith Rovers, and warned that they can’t make the same mistake again.

He said: “It’s a massive game and we’ve got to give all our respect to Alloa.

“They’re flying high in the Second Division and will come here full of confidence, so we can’t underestimate them.

“It’s the same situation as the Co-operative Insurance Cup when we went to Raith Rovers, a First Division club, and they put us out.

“We’ve got to be on our guard here, put out our strongest team possible and get a win to move into the fifth round.

“We can’t get complacent; I know we’re off league duty but this is when we need to go out there and show that we’re capable of beating these teams.”

The visit of Alloa kicks off a hectic schedule that will see Accies tackle Celtic at New Douglas Park on Tuesday, January 12, Rangers at Ibrox the following Saturday, and Hibs at home on the 18th.

Imrie knows it’s going to be difficult but admits Accies need to take as many points as possible from that sequence.

He said: “It’s going to be difficult – we’ve got Celtic here in midweek and then Rangers at Ibrox on the Saturday so that’s not going to be easy but we’ve got to stay positive and see if we can get something from these games.

“It’s going to be tough but we’re a strong group, we’ll stick together and I’m sure our luck will start turning.”