Hamilton boss Brian Rice says their 3-0 win over Motherwell is the perfect start to the new year.
Lee Hodson and Callum Smith bagged their first goals for the club either side of Ross Callachan's sixth strike of the season as Accies ran riot against managerless Motherwell, with Keith Lasley taking interim charge.
Rice, who has steered Accies up to 10th in the Premiership table, was delighted that his side got stuck in, and says after they've done that they can play a bit.
He said: "I couldn't ask for a better start to the new year. I thought on Wednesday getting a point at St Johnstone [0-0 draw] and a clean sheet was really good but that today was exceptional.
"Playing our local rivals, the first game of a new year, scoring three goals and keeping a clean sheet, I'm absolutely delighted for everybody.
"The grittiness, the determination not to lose a goal even at 3-0... and we created more chances, so could have had a couple more, but just the way we got the three points was great.
"It was a big game for us today, you're playing your local rivals, it's a game you want to win, and you want to win it well. I think we did that today.
"It's a local derby; you've got to roll your sleeves up, you've got to get stuck in, you've got to win your individual battles, and you're playing for your local town here, against Motherwell which is only a mile or two away.
"First and foremost we won the fight, we won the battle, and then let's see if we can make a few chances and take them."
Hamilton's injury and Covid problems are well documented, and Rice pointed out that he was left with a young squad after George Stanger replaced injured captain Brian Easton, further bringing down the average age.
But he says they gave everything for the club.
Rice said: "I'm not making excuses, it's facts I state when I saw we've had Covid situations and injury situations, and you could see today that I've got a group of players, young players.
"Easton goes off, I bring on a young centre-half, young Jamie Hamilton's playing, there's Andy Winter, who I thought was outstanding, and a group of young players who play for the badge, not for the name on the back of the jersey, they play for the name on the front of it.
"As long as they do that I can't have any complaints.
"There's a bit of inexperience in there, and there will be days when we get it wrong - badly wrong - and I get it badly wrong, and I hold my hands up, but on days like today where they do everything properly, you know, they're not that bad a team.
"It's great when people just talk about the attitude because they seem to forget that I have one or two players that can actually play a wee bit.
"You think when you put on an Accies jersey some people say 'well you can't play' but we had a bit of everything today.
"i thought the goals were good play, one or two of them, and I can't say any more than that, I thought they were good goals.
"That's as good as it gets in the first game of the new year, against your local rivals - it cant get any better than it did today.
"Keeping a clean sheet is important to me.
"I think that's four clean sheets in seven weeks and two this week, and I'm saying to the lads in there that teams around about us - Ross County, Motherwell, St Johnstone - we've had clean sheets against them, and we've not really done that before.
"People will look at it and think it's just the defence, but it's not - watch the front two, it's starting from there, and we're working from there, so great credit to everybody.
"It's just a great day for us.
"I'm just a wee bit disappointed that there are no fans there to see it, but if we're not last on Sportscene we get to see it a wee bit earlier!"
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