Accies kicked-off their League One campaign with a win over Montrose after fans took aim at the board before kick-off
Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin insists the club will be stronger with the encouragement of their supporters this season – after a fan protest preceded their win over Montrose at Broadwood.
The Accies faithful made their feelings clear about the club’s current plight off the pitch ahead of kick-off, taking aim at the board for overseeing a serious of multiple SPFL rule breaches in recent months, which saw the club docked 15 points last season and hit with a season-long transfer embargo last week.
The move out of Hamilton to Cumbernauld has also been met with consternation.
But the fans parked the protests at the door to cheer on their side to a 2-0 victory over Montrose on the opening day of the League One campaign, where a first-half strike from Oli Shaw and a second half effort from trialist Charlie Telfer earn all three points.
And Rankin said: “I am aware of it [the protest] because we obviously walked by it on the way in, but I only saw wee bits.
“What’s happening there is way above my pay grade. I am here to try and put a team on the pitch that can win games but that becomes a bit more difficult with the embargo.
“What I will say is that I want the supporters behind us and I felt they were. They make a massive difference when they back the players from the side.
“Together, as a group, we will be stronger with that encouragement.
“We just need to make sure we keep putting in the performances and keep making sure that the drive is right. I guarantee they will be on the road in their numbers.
“Whatever has gone on has gone on. If they can be behind us, we will continue to be as competitive as we possibly can.”
Accies – who fielded three new signings on amateur contracts with the arrivals of Cale Loughrey, Idris Munir and Mikey Stone – passed up a ridiculous amount of clear-cut chances in the first-half, so much so that Shaw could easily have had a hat-trick by the interval.
He twice failed to score while through one-on-one, while skipper Scott Robinson and Steven Bradley missed golden opportunities before Shaw tapped home with the last kick of the half from Kyle MacDonald’s cross.
In 62 minutes a neat move was finished off by a terrific Telfer strike, but Accies let Montrose back into the contest after that with the visitors rattling the bar and forcing goalkeeper Jamie Smith into two smart stops to keep a clean sheet.
Rankin added: “If you had said to me before the game we’d win 2-0, your striker would get on the scoresheet and you’d keep a clean sheet I would have taken it.
“I was delighted with some of the stuff we played in the first 60 minutes but then I felt we got into some bad habits and we let our standards slip. That comes from experience and good habits, and a drive from within.
“As the game went on, players got tired and that played a part. The heat coming off the astroturf plays a part, but we also need to be more clinical in the final third.
“We need to make sure we touch up on some things and manage games better but, at the same time, I am delighted with the players.
“The last seven or eight days have been pretty turbulent making sure that we have players to put on the pitch, but the players have never lost their focus and they have continued to keep going.”
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