Riled-up Brian Rice reckons Hamilton deserve more praise for their Premiership staying power.
The Accies gaffer is still fuming at how last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Hibs was perceived in certain quarters – with Easter Road boss Paul Heckingbottom claiming his men were streets ahead.
Rice believes it’s easy to take a pop at Hamilton but the snipers only fuel his men’s motivation to keep giving rivals grief.
He said: “We didn’t get the credit we deserved. Everyone is entitled to their opinion – and so am I.
“I will stick up for my players. I am not going to say we were better than Hibs but we put in a good quality performance.
“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have got a point. To win a game you need to score more than your opponent. It was 1-1.
“I just feel like it’s, ‘aye, it’s only wee Hamilton’ and we don’t matter. Well we aren’t ‘only wee Hamilton’– we are in this league because we deserve to be.
“We are not getting the respect we deserve from certain people.
“It annoys me when my boys don’t get the credit for digging in against Hibs at 1-0 down and getting a result.
“We came back from the jaws of defeat again and dug something out. Maybe the Hibs keeper didn’t make a save but mine didn’t have a lot to do either.
“Both teams had shots off target. But wee things like that help us when people keep knocking us. First and foremost, I use that as motivation for myself.
“It’s nice to be getting knocked – and not be bottom of the league.”
Rice may be raging but he insisted he has a happy camp at the moment after a solid start to the campaign.
He said: “It was a great feeling for us and there is a spirit in the squad. There is a good feeling around the club at the moment, with the fight and resolve we
are showing.
“We know we can play better but I always look at the positives.”
Accies are above Hearts and Hibs in the table – with rock bottom St Johnstone coming up this weekend.
Saints gaffer Tommy Wright is under pressure in Perth but there’s respect rather than sympathy coming from Rice.
He said: “Everybody is under pressure in every game. It’s early in the season and there is nothing between teams.
“Tommy is just in a position a lot of bosses have been in before.
“I have huge respect for Tommy. He has done a fantastic job for St Johnstone and I am sure he will do the same in the future.
“He knows what needs to be done, like every manager. You need to win games.
“I understand the position he is in and the pressures there.
“We don’t walk away after every game and say, ‘oh, let’s see what happens tomorrow’.
“We think about it 24/7 and being a manager is very demanding.
“Perth is always a hard place to go, whether St Johnstone are top six or bottom six.
“I put myself in their position when we were down the bottom fighting like hell to get a win.”
