Liam Craig admits Hamilton may not get the respect they deserve but the St Johnstone midfielder insists his side will never underestimate Accies.

The Perth playmaker has been impressed by the start Martin Canning's side have made to the campaign, which has included surprise wins over Dundee and Hibernian.

Yet he still believes the SuperSeal Stadium outfit do not get the credit their results merit.

The Saints have also punched above their weight in recent years without gaining the kind of plaudits heaped on their more established rivals.

But Craig insists the McDiarmid side will be taking nothing for granted when they welcome Hamilton to the Fair City on Saturday.

"Hamilton are similar to ourselves," he said. "It's easy to label teams hard to beat - but they are hard to beat because they are well organised and have good players.

"Look at boys like Ali Crawford, Rakish Bingham and Greg Docherty. They have got quality throughout.

"They probably don't get the credit for the things that they are good at.

"People say they shell it long too much but I don't care what side you are, you could be playing in Europe and if you're a goal down what are you going to do? You start knocking it long.

"When people say that the likes of us and Hamilton are like that it is a bit disrespectful. There is a lot of quality in both teams.

"Look at the quality of the goal Hamilton scored against Hibs and some of the goals we have scored this season. It just shows we're both underestimated.

"We thrive on that though and I'm sure the Accies boys do too.

"It's not a fluke to qualify for Europe five times out of the last six seasons, to win the Scottish Cup and be in the top six as often as we have been - just as it isn't one for a side like Accies to keep staving off relegation when they have smaller budgets than the rest of the teams.

"I think we're starting to get recognition for what we have achieved and we will certainly give Accies the respect they deserve."