By Ben McNicol
Transfer windows don’t tend to be exciting as Hamilton fans.
In fact, they normally end in disappointment and unfortunately this month’s window looks to be heading in a similar direction unless something dramatic happens in the next 48 hours.
Accies boss Brian Rice admitted on several occasions prior to the opening of the window that a new striker was a priority and here we are, four weeks later, and the silence is deafening at New Douglas Park.
Over the last few months, the defensive solidity has majorly improved, but ultimately up-front we are toothless and should this situation not be addressed, the club will be seriously gambling their top-flight status.
It’s been a month of mental anguish for everyone associated with Hamilton as they’ve seen relegation rivals Ross County, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, and Motherwell all improve their squads in hope of steering them further away from the Accies, who’re sat rock-bottom of the table.
On Monday, Andre Wright joined Ayr United.
On Tuesday, George Oakley opted to join Kilmarnock.
On Thursday, Jason Cummings signed for Championship side Dundee.
And on Friday, Raith Rovers pulled off the signing of Timmy Abraham, brother of Chelsea star Tammy.
Rice said after missing out on two English targets earlier in the window that we’d need to look closer to home for players, but I’ve yet to see evidence as to why the club can’t sign anyone from down south as plenty of other clubs seem to be doing it.
It’s a very frustrating situation and one of the more concerning things are the fact we’ve been linked with absolutely no one.
I genuinely do believe that Hamilton are one or two good signings away from having a half decent Premiership standard squad.
Kyle Lafferty is still currently a free agent despite being heavily linked with Dundee yesterday afternoon.
Rice has already admitted the move is something he’d “love” to happen and that the 33-year-old would “100% improve Hamilton, therefore my message to the hierarchy would be to push the boat out and make it happen as it would most likely be a season saver.
Craig Wighton is another option as he’s been allowed to leave Hearts should he come to an agreement with another club.
Would he have been one of my first targets at the start of the month? No. But considering the now desperate situation the club find themselves at this late, late stage I would happily take him on a short-term deal and could see him grabbing four or five goals, which is all we might need.
February is a massive month with a bottom of the table clash against Ross County on Wednesday, followed by runaway league leaders Rangers at home, in-form Livingston away, a Lanarkshire derby away to an improved Motherwell side, a trip to fellow bottom-six side St Mirren and a visit to fourth place Hibernian.
It's a very tough run of games and Accies need to strengthen ahead of a spell that will go a long way to determining if they will make it eight consecutive seasons in the Premiership.
The last thing we’d all want to happen is finding ourselves adrift at the bottom of the table going into the play-offs, therefore it’s crucial that the club pick up points over the next month and don’t rely on other results going our way like previous season, especially with how our luck been so far this season in terms of COVID-19, track and trace and injuries.
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