Hamilton Player/Manager Alex Neil picked up the SPFL Championship Manager of the Month for March earlier this week and Neil reckons that if his side continue to handle title winning pressure they will be top of the Championship come the end of the season.
Neil said: “The pressure is on us, Dundee and to a lesser extent Falkirk and it is about how you handle that. If we continue to go about our business as we have been doing, and Dundee do the same, it will be really tight with Falkirk waiting to pounce.”
“There was more pressure on Dundee at the start of the season as they had the more experienced squad. They also had added pressure as they were expected to win the league but that has probably changed now. We are the team at the top and have some pressure but our young guys are handling it well so far.”
Neil added: “We ask the players what they have to be scared about? We tell them to go out and enjoy their game. Try and win, the worst you can do is lose. We have lost 6 times this season so it can happen but go out and express yourself.”
“Hopefully our young players will continue not to be scared and they will help get us there. It will be fantastic if they do, but if it doesn’t happen, then we have given it a right good bash.”
Despite the Bairns being 4 points behind it is definitely a three sided race as opposed to a Lanarkshire and Tayside duel to Neil who explained: “Falkirk were always in it, so there are three sides still chasing the title. Some people wrote them off but knowing that we had to play Dundee, and something would have to give, they were always in the race.”
“They have put some good results together although with four games to play, two teams dropping 4 points is quite a lot to depend on. However at this time of season anything can happen.”
Neil is not one for doing sums on potential scenarios as he added: “It is difficult to say how many points will be needed to come out on top. Our record in our last 9 games is 6 wins and 3 draws and if we can keep that momentum we will get two or three wins and a draw. That could well see us over the line but it is anybody’s guess.”
Hamilton lead Dundee courtesy of having scored 9 more goals than Paul Hartley’s side and continuing to outgun the Dark Blues will keep Neil happy as he explained: “Goals could be vital as it could go down to goal difference or goals scored. If it does then we have that in our favour as we have been scoring.”
Accordingly there will be no safety first approach from the New Douglas Park side with Neil advising: “We want to maintain our record in scoring goals so we will go out, attack and try to win games. We will go for it in the last 4 games and try to win them all. We will not go somewhere and try and nick anything.”
The last instalment of the Championship title battle saw Dundee leave Lanarkshire after a 1-1 draw last Saturday and Neil said: “I still feel the same now a few days later as I did immediately after the game. I felt that we were the team trying to attack and trying to win the game. To be fair when Dundee were a goal ahead I knew that it was going to be difficult to get the win as they have a really good defensive record. “
“Once they scored you start thinking about just getting an equaliser as opposed to winning the game. We set out to get the three points and I felt that we had the best chances. We played most of the football and if there was going to be a winner it was going to be us.”
“However a point was a decent result after being behind.”
The top two face similar run-ins over the final 4 games with Neil explaining: “We have all played each other so nothing will give there now. We are playing Livingston on Saturday and Dundee have Cowdenbeath and then we play the same sides in Morton, Dumbarton and Alloa.”
It was a bit less frantic the last time Accies moved up a division with Neil explaining: “When we were promoted in 2008 I think we won it in the second last game of the season against a Clyde team that had already been relegated 2-0. We had led all season and it was Dundee who were chasing us. However they had never been top of the table, it was only really close at one point.”
“We played Dundee at our place in a crunch meeting with 7 games to go and won 1-0 with a goal from Mark McLaughlin.”
“It is not too dissimilar as the top two teams are the same, although we were dominant in terms of leading all season.”
If Dundee overhaul Hamilton there could of course be a hangover, however Neil reckons his side will be fine as he explained: “If we go into the Play-Offs it will not be hard to pick ourselves up. Dundee beat us 3-0 here last autumn and we picked ourselves up. Just the other week we conceded at Cowdenbeath in the 95th and a half minute when there should have only been 2 minutes of injury time and we have picked ourselves up.”
“Peaks and troughs happen and we have to make sure you put your efforts in the following game.”
Neil is just a year into the management role at the Accies and this success is his third during that time.
When he first picked up an Award in May 2013 Neil spoke at length about still wanting to be a player and he was asked if that that was still the case.
Neil advised: “Yeah of course it is. I had an operation before Christmas for quite a large muscle tear in my stomach. It was a worse injury than I thought it was. That is why I have been out so long.”
“I am regaining my fitness and played over 70 minutes for the under-20’s this week and I will keep playing until my body tells me otherwise. There is a good balance in the team and the players are doing well so I don’t need to rush myself back.”
“I will be ready once my fitness levels tell me they are and when I think I can have a positive impact on the team.”
Neil was then asked if he would involve himself in a final day showdown and he said: “If the final game is decisive I will play myself if I am fit. I will only play however if I think that me playing will improve the team. If I don’t think I will improve the team I will not play.”
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