Accies legend Alex Neil has called on the Hamilton players to be fearless in Falkirk when they fight it out with Raith Rovers for the SPFL Trust Trophy tomorrow.
The New Douglas Park outfit are aiming for their first cup success in 30 years when they tackle their Championship rivals for the trophy and teenagers like Fergus Owens and Chrissy McGinn could be thrust into the showpiece by Accies head coach John Rankin.
Neil played with and managed some top young talent at the club down the years at Accies and sees parallels with the teams he played with and the developing squad there under Rankin right now.
But the current Stoke City gaffer reckons the key to success on Sunday will be bravery and belief.
He said: “People talk regularly about ‘not playing the occasion’ and that is what you’ve got to do.
“Don’t focus on what might happen if you don’t play well, just go out there with complete belief in yourself and what you are doing - and make sure you enjoy it.
“I’d just say to them, don’t even think about losing the game, don’t have that fear. You just don’t know how many cup finals you are going to be involved in as a player.
“When you do get to a final, you want to look back on it as an occasion where you gave it everything you’ve got and you can be proud of what you achieved.”
The 41-year-old added: “What we had when I was at Hamilton is very similar to what we are seeing again now, with a lot of younger players coming through.
“We had the James McCarthys, the James McArthurs, the Brian Eastons [now at the club for a third spell] and those sorts of lads.
“When I was at the club, we always went into these types of games expecting to win.
“I think that is the most important thing, having belief in yourself to go and win the game.
“These games are moments that the kids in the team will never forget.
“It will be a great experience for them and they are only going to get better from sampling this kind of game.”
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