Stuart Taylor says a bounce game with Ayr United yesterday has his Hamilton squad in fine fettle ahead of Saturday's clash at Kilmarnock.
And the Accies head coach admitted "the amount of 15-year-olds running about was great" as a number of Academy starlets got vital experience against a strong United outfit.
Taylor takes his team to Ayrshire on Saturday to face Derek McInnnes' Championship title hopefuls and Accies were delighted to get minutes in the legs in a rare bounce game, which were almost non-existent during the pandemic.
Taylor revealed: "We played a bounce game on Tuesday against Ayr United and it was a really good exercise for the squad.
"A lot of the players got minutes, which is something we were delighted with. It gets the lads match minutes as opposed to training, which is really good.
"Getting minutes against another competitive side was good and it was done really well.
"Another good aspect to it was we got loads of the young kids in and got them involved in it, which was brilliant.
"That's something we will look to do going forward, getting the kids involved in these types of games for next season.
"It was really refreshing to see all the young kids playing and doing well in the game. It was a great experience for them.
"Sam Nicolson played and we had Gabriel Forsyth, Jared Lyons, Chris McGinn, Cammy May, lots of them. They all came in and did really well and it was great.
"Ayr United had a strong team out so they were playing against experienced players, which is what we were looking to do, to get them as much experience as they possibly can.
"The amount of 15 year-olds running about and getting that was brilliant."
Players who didn't feature included Jamie Hamilton, Miko Virtanen and Joe Hilton, who all remain out injured. Hilton, who suffered a grade two MCL (medial collateral ligament) tear, will be out for 4-6 weeks and has gone for a scan on his knee.
Skipper Brian Easton did feature in the match, though, as he looks to get his place back in the starting 11 for Saturday and winger Lewis Smith is back in training after a cold.
Taylor added: "Miko is still out and Joe has gone for his scan on his knee and he'll obviously miss Saturday's game.
"Jamie had tweaked his groin last week and we are looking at him being back in training this week.
"Whether Saturday comes too soon for him, we'll need to wait and see.
"But Lewis is in contention for Saturday."
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