Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark has rubbished Martin Canning’s suggestion that his Hamilton side won’t be treating Saturday’s clash between the pair as an especially big game.
The usual cliché wheeled out by managers for matches such as these, where a win for Hamilton would see them condemn Kilmarnock to the relegation playoffs, is that they are treating it like a cup final.
Canning attempted to play that sentiment down yesterday by insisting his side would not be making any special preparations for the encounter at New Douglas Park.
His counterpart Clark though was having none of that, as he stressed that his Kilmarnock side will be wound up for the occasion.
He said: “How many big games has he been involved in? I’ve been involved in plenty.
“Every game is a big game to me because it’s our life. It’s the next most important thing to my family.
“Whether it’s a pre-season friendly, a Champions League game, representing your country, every game is big and I don’t downplay any game.
“It’s the biggest game since I’ve been here. It’s a must win. When we do win it, it puts us right back in the mix again, four behind with nine to play for.
“Does that affect how we go about the game? Maybe, yes. It’s something to think about, but a defeat means it’s gone and a draw makes it unlikely for us.
“I still believe we will get tenth place. What re-emphasises that for me is that, although we lost last Sunday, we were in control of our own destiny. We beat ourselves, we didn’t get beat by a superior opponent.
“It was galling and tough to take, but, in the cold light of day when you analyse it, we shot ourselves in the foot. So we go there on Saturday sticking to our beliefs.
“Listen, Martin and his team have done terrifically well. They have handled the pressure and taken six points from six and we congratulate them on that, but we hope to make it as nervy last few weeks for them.
“We know we have to win, he’s in a different position. I’d love to swap places with him, in terms of league position.”
If Clark’s side are to get the victory they need against Hamilton, he must first lift the spirits of his players after their painful defeat against Inverness.
“Last Sunday felt like a real horrendous result,” he said. "Like the worst result of your career because it was in our hands and the way we threw it away was worse than you feel if you have been smashed six or seven.
“Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. We get a goal ahead, start creating more chances and you are thinking it’s a good opportunity to get another win, then the situation transpired that we get a triple whammy. A penalty against us, lose our goalkeeper for the game and then maybe lose him for a huge game on Saturday.
“Probably the worst team in the league to be playing against when you go to 10 men is Inverness with the way they move the ball. I still felt we defended well on the whole, we just knocked off for the penalty and the set-play.
"It’s gone and we move on. We had a bright session on Tuesday and I spoke to the lads at length about not being able to affect the past and only the future.”
The Rugby Park side hope to be given a boost ahead of the Hamilton clash today as news of goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald's appeal against his red card in the Inverness game is due to be announced. One player who should be available for the trip to Lanarkshire is Craig Slater, who has returned to training following illness. Clark is also hopeful that striker Josh Magennis should be passed fit after sitting out the visit to the Highlands.
Canning, meanwhile, remains confident in his side's ability ahead of the visit of Clark's side and is eager not to put too much pressure on the shoulders of his players.
"It's a football game between us and Kilmarnock," he said.
"We have proved throughout the course of the season that, if we can play well, we can beat Kilmarnock. You take out the fact that if we win, we stay up and if this happens, that happens.
"It all becomes irrelevant. It's a 90-minute game and if we approach it with the same focus and determination that we have had in the last couple of games, we should hopefully do well."
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