Gary Doctor says his Hamilton Women’s team need to show their resilient side if they are to earn the derby bragging rights over Motherwell this weekend in a huge SWPL1 clash.
Accies are sitting second from bottom in the division going into the clash away to seventh-place ‘Well on Sunday, and will be desperate to halt a run of four games without a win.
The Women of Steel ran out 3-1 winners at New Douglas Park In their previous meeting in November.
But Doctor says that wasn’t a fair reflection of the game and his side must be ready to repel what their opponents will throw at them this time.
He said: “It’s been a difficult few weeks since the Glasgow City result [a 6-0 defeat]. We’ve had very close results since and not won so we are looking for a big performance on Sunday.
“We need to continue to play well but give a wee bit more in the key moments.
“The players need to focus on showing resilience that you need in these types of games.
“The game earlier in the season was a strange one. Motherwell did well but we had a really poor period just before half-time. In the second half we were excellent and probably should have scored more to get a result in that game.
“We really caused them problems and that’s what we’ve got to do from the first minute on Sunday.
“We’ve had a result against them previously [a 1-0 win at Fir Park last season] and we need to make sure our players are ready for what will come at them to get a positive result.”
The clash takes on a greater level of importance with it likely to be Accies’ last realistic chance to pick up points before the split next month.
They host Celtic and Hibs before travelling to Rangers – sides all in the top five – after it and Doctor said: “We’ve got that hard run of fixtures going into the split so that probably puts a wee bit more pressure on us.”
Kick-off is 1.10pm on Sunday at K-Park in East Kilbride.
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