Hamilton boss John Rankin says the arrival of two new signings lifted the mood in the dressing room - and he is eager to feel that buzz again with more fresh faces.
Kilmarnock defender Dylan McGowan and Stoke City midfielder Tom Sparrow came in on loan last week and hit the ground running with solid debuts in the 1-0 defeat to Ayr United and Sparrow followed that up by helping Accies reach the SPFL Trust Trophy semi-finals with a battling 3-2 win over Clyde on Tuesday night.
Rankin revealed the players enjoyed a bit of banter last Friday when the signings were teased in the Accies dressing room and he hopes there will be more new names getting printed on the back of shirts this month to boost their survival bid in the Scottish Championship.
He said: "The boys got a major lift off the two guys coming in last week.
"I could feel the noise on the Friday morning. They saw two shirts hanging in the dressing room and people were trying to guess. That's a medium, that's a large, who could that be?
"There's millions of players in the world, but the boys thought they could guess who it was based on the size of the shirt.
"That sort of camaraderie and noise before training was good and as soon as the two boys came in, it lifted things.
"Players coming in like to show off, have a bit of banter, be the joker of the pack so it was good to see and it changed the mood for Saturday at Ayr.
"I've seen the response from the boys getting two players in so we know what it [getting more players in] can do."
Rankin handed Australian McGowan, the brother of St Johnstone defender Ryan, the armband for the clash at Ayr and although they suffered a seventh straight league defeat, which keeps them six points adrift of Arbroath at the foot of the table, he believes he has added a real leader to the squad.
He said: "Putting Dylan straight in and making him captain took some responsibility off of the players and he was good on Saturday.
"He helped the players around him and we need that kind of leadership on the pitch between now and the end of the season.
"That has been a huge part of what we are doing and who we are still trying to bring in as well."
Accies host Morton on Saturday in the Championship, kick-off 3pm.
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.
