Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Andy McGilvray

Brian Rice says 'I owe Accies a lot, they stood by me when others might have sacked me'

Hamilton boss Brian Rice didn't take long to agree to a new rolling contract, and says he owes the club a lot for standing by him.

Rice's off-field problems have been well documented, but the Accies head coach says how much the club backed him convinced him this was where he wanted to be.

Having agreed new deals alongside assistant Guillaume Beuzelin and goalkeeper coach Brian Potter, Rice says the club ticks all the boxes for him.

He said: "I didn't need to be convinced to sign on again here. This is a unique club, and it ticks everything I'm looking for in a club - the way they conduct their business, the way you get looked after, right through the pandemic, and I owe this club a huge debt of gratitude, so it was an easy decision to make.

"The club gave me a chance to be the head coach, I took that opportunity, and obviously with the problems that I had the club were right behind me all the way right from the top - everybody.

"The fans, players, owners, board of directors, they backed me all the way, really looked after me, so for me it was a simple decision.

"If there is any club in Britain that's going to stand my you, it's this club.

"I've said on numerous occasions that if I was at any other club I probably wouldn't be the head coach at that club any longer, but this is a unique club with fantastic people, from the top right to the bottom.

"It's a club here. It's not individuals. It's Hamilton Accies Football Club, and it very much is a club here.

Rice (centre) and coaches Guillaume Beuzelin (left) and Brian Potter have been rewarded with new deals (SNS Group)

"We're all one, there is no division between us all, so that's a massive thing that I like here.

"It didn't take me too long, when I was offered the chance of a new deal, to accept it."

Rice is confident that Accies can beat the drop in their remaining four Premiership games, and says he has so far done what was asked of him by chairman Allan Maitland.

He said: "The remit was to come in, keep them up, introduce new players - I've kept them up, I've introduced new players, and we're still fighting to keep them up and still introducing new players. The academy is still producing and the kids are back training now.

"There have been ups and downs as there are at every club, and this season has been very trying for every club, but more so for us, with the set-backs that we've had.

"You'll never please every player; the ones that are playing are happy, the ones that aren't playing aren't happy, but I hope they can see that there is a plan going forward.

"I want them to be a part of it - but I want them to be a part of it in the Premiership and we'll do everything we can to achieve that.

Rice had had a lot of backing at Accies from people like chairman Allan Maitland (SNS Group)

"The spirit has never wavered. We've had massive set-backs this season but we've just got to get on with it.

"We're still in there fighting, we're only one game away from being off the bottom of the league, and that's our aim."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.