Hamilton boss Canning defiant over club’s poor form
Published:
A humiliating defeat to Ladbrokes League 2 side Annan Athletic in the Scottish Cup at the weekend, put Martin Canning at his “lowest point”, but throwing in the towel is not an option for the Hamilton boss.
Last weekend’s 4-1 loss was the fifth defeat in six games in all competitions for the South Lanarkshire side, while they have won just once since the start of October.
While the cup should have been a mere distraction from a Ladbrokes Premiership campaign that has taken a turn for the worse, focus at New Douglas Park must surely be on halting the slide towards the bottom of the table.
Having been as big as 80/1 to finish bottom this season at one point, the Accies are now 14/1 to claim the wooden spoon, though being dragged into a relegation play-off is a more realistic threat.
But for Canning, the time is now for them to not only push on, but to end any speculation surrounding his future at the club.
“I know you can’t continue to do what’s happening just now, we have got to make sure we turn it and start winning games,” he told the Daily Record.
“But I will keep my head down and keep on working as hard as I can. There is plenty of fight in me.
“We need to make sure we go to St Johnstone positive and strip things back, back to basics, if you like.”
His side are 14/5 to bag all three points at McDiarmid Park at the weekend, something they have only done twice in their last 12 visits to Perthshire.
The fact that they are on the road could even be a blessing for last season’s seventh-placed finishers, as they haven’t taken the spoils at New Douglas Park since overcoming Motherwell on September 19.
Shoring up the defence is undoubtedly one thing Canning needs to do with his team with the Accies shipping 19 goals in their last six games in all competitions.
Do that, and they could well take the spoils from a Saints team that haven’t scored in their last four games.
Slip to another loss though any top-half aspirations this season completely turn to dust.
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