With the Scottish Premiership campaign now well up and running, and the first round of head-to-head fixtures almost completed, there can be no debate about the story of the season so far… the rise and rise of Hamilton Academical.
When they last competed in the top flight in 2010/11, the New Douglas Park side amassed a total of 26 points. Last week’s victory over Aberdeen took them to within three of that total after just ten matches.
Their run is even more remarkable given how the season began. Whether it was first-day nerves, or just a poor showing, the Accies were well beaten by Caley Thistle when they kicked things off. What has happened since has been utterly astonishing.
Nine matches unbeaten in the Premiership, two more in the League Cup, and Alex Neil’s men are flying.
Before their win over the Dons, Derek McInnes had said: “Hamilton are going nowhere…” by which he meant they would be sticking around as contenders for the remainder of the campaign. Without ever hitting their peak form, they went out and proved him right as they blew their visitors away to complete a sequence of successive victories over last season’s top three clubs.
Neil has been keeping his feet on the ground, and will be ensuring his players do the same.
Their achievements are firmly based on hard work. He trains his players hard and is demanding of them. It is apparent watching them that each of his men is well briefed, and knows exactly what is expected of them out on the pitch.
There is nothing unique in their approach, many other teams try to play the same way, but Alex seems to have assembled a group for which the high-intensity pressing game almost comes naturally. They hunt in packs, they rarely allow an opposition player to dwell on the ball, and when they win it back they make space for each other and implement the passing game which has been drilled into them.
Signings have been made, but a number of the senior squad have been with Hamilton for years, making their way through the various ranks, playing the same kind of football, and when they reach first-team level they seem to adapt with ease.
I was at both play-off matches against Hibernian at the end of last season, and after the first leg defeat saw no chance of the Accies winning through. The second match was however an eye-opener, and the players have brought that skill and resilience up to the Premiership with them.
I have no doubts that Hamilton will finish in the top six, and they have to be seen as serious contenders for a European place, but much will depend on how they cope with the inevitable injuries and suspensions, the possibility of some of their key men being plundered in the January transfer window, and whether the other sides, having now had a look, work out ways to combat them.
However it pans out, Alex Neil’s men look set to have perhaps the best season in their 140-year history. What an achievement that would be.
Follow Richard Gordon on Twitter @RichardGordon48
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