Boss John Rankin hopes this week can be a turning point in Hamilton’s season as they look to follow up last night’s win at Inverness with another three points on their travels when they visit Arbroath on Saturday.
Accies had suffered four straight defeats before they stunned the Caley Jags to move off the bottom of the Championship table and three points clear of Arbroath, having played a game more.
And now Rankin says they must use the clash with Lichties – whom they beat 1-0 at home in August – to kick start their season and to try to move clear of the relegation zone.
He said: “We won the last game with Arbroath 1-0 and followed up that performance with a frustrating draw.
“So it’s about how we follow up the Inverness victory. We’ve got to recover quickly after a long journey home. The fitness levels and nutrition all come into play.
“We know how difficult it is going to be up there. Last season up there it was 2-1 going into the final minutes but Arbroath have got that never-say-die spirit and got a last-minute goal.
“I’ve got a huge admiration for [boss] Dick Campbell and the way he goes about his business. I watched them last Friday night at Queen’s Park and I knew how determined they were to get a result that night and they got a 1-1 draw, so it will be difficult for us on Saturday.
“But the boys are full of confidence and we need to kick on. We need to get a bit of momentum behind us now to try and climb the table.”
Rankin has been boosted by the return of talismanic striker Andy Ryan in the last fortnight and midfielder Miko Virtanen is now getting minutes under his belt as well.
So he believes that bodes well for the coming weeks as Accies start to get the core of their squad back from injury.
He added: “Having Andy Ryan back and his leadership qualities, how to do the right things at the right time in games, has been a big thing and over the past two games I think we’ve had real character back on the pitch.
“Steve Lawson stood up as well on Tuesday, along with Ryan Fulton, who was solid, and Andy Winter popped up with his goal at the right time so there was a good spine to the team.
“When we look at the players coming back from injury like Miko and Andy – on top of Lewis Smith and Ryan One coming off the bench – it is huge for us.”
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