Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin says he’s been able to enjoy his Saturday night in recent weeks, because his side’s hard work has been rewarded.
Accies are on a run of four straight wins in all competitions as they welcome a high-flying Dundee side to New Douglas Park in the Championship this weekend.
A debut goal from on-loan Newcastle striker Dylan Stephenson gave them a 1-0 win at Partick Thistle, following on from a similar triumph at home to Morton on January 14, courtesy of an Andy Winter penalty.
Accies also ousted Premiership side Ross County from the Scottish Cup fourth round on penalties after a 0-0 draw to set up a home fifth-round clash against Hearts next Friday night.
They also host Queen of the South in the SPFL Trust Trophy semi-finals on Tuesday, having beat Clyde 3-2 on January 10.
Rankin has been pleased with that run, having endured a tough time of it in recent month as Accies went on a sequence of seven straight league defeats.
He said: “Hopefully it is things clicking into place for us. We’ve worked tirelessly, we’ve worked hard as a group.
“The players work hard every day and sometimes you don’t get results.
“That’s the frustrating part, and the hard part to deal with.
“Saturday nights for the majority of the last three months haven’t been enjoyable, but when you get a win like over the last four games, it’s a different feeling.
“You can allow the players to flourish, and I think we have been, but over and above that, we’ve done the ‘horrible’ side of the game.
“We’ve probably been naive about that before and not known that we have to do that as well, to go and play.
“Bringing in the likes of [captain] Dylan McGowan helps with that, because for me he’s an on-field leader and he can manage the game as it’s going along on the pitch.
“That has been a big part of what we’ve been missing.”
Rankin says Accies are looking forward to the clash against on-form Dundee, who stunned Championship leaders Queen’s Park with a 3-0 win last weekend.
He hopes home fans can back their side to a win at the fourth attempt against the Taysiders this season.
He said: “We’re looking forward to the game on Saturday. Dundee brought in three players on Tuesday so they have changed their squad a bit.
“It’s a game where we’re quite familiar with what they are – we’ve played them three times this season – so it’s one we’re looking forward to, and we can hopefully continue the run that we’re on.
“The support on Saturday at Firhill was something the players responded to – you saw that in the second half.
“In the first half we were under the cosh, under a bit of pressure, but they stuck with the players and they responded to that with their performance.
“You could see the players at the end going to celebrate with the fans. The support means an awful lot to them.
“Although we brought in some new players, the majority are still young guys and they flourish under a good atmosphere, so hopefully the fans get behind them again and they can give them something to go home pleased with.
“I think that’s probably the reason why, over the last three or four games, the supporters have seen the effort and energy levels, and they respond to that as well.”
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