HAMILTON Accies forward Dougie Imrie is desperate to avoid being relegated for the fourth time in his career. Imrie suffered that fate in his first stint at the club in 2011, and also went down with Inverness Caley in 2009 and Morton in 2014. Accies’ 4-0 victory over Dundee on Saturday spared them the prospect of automatic relegation from the Premiership but now Martin Canning’s side must defeat Dundee United over two legs this week if they are to keep their spot in the top division. Imrie knows the possible consequences for everyone at the club if they don’t.
He said: "We don't want to be relegated, it's horrible. It's not just the players, there are repercussions for everyone. But we have given ourselves a great opportunity with winning that game on Saturday.
“We now go into the play-offs, so I suppose you could say that the job is only half-done. We know it will be tough over two legs. I watched the play-off between United and Falkirk on Friday night. Both teams played good football, so we know it will be tough. But we are definitely looking forward to it on the back of this performance and result.
“Tannadice is a great stadium and it always produces a great atmosphere. I’ve played there various times, so we are looking forward to Thursday and then getting them back to our place next Sunday.”
Imrie also felt the criticism of Canning and some of the team had been over the top, believing Hamilton have been “punching above their weight” during their three years in the Premiership.
He added: “I think some of the stick that the manager and some of the players have been getting has been uncalled for. Fans are entitled to their opinion, but we are the smallest club in the league and probably have the smallest budget in the league, as well.
“For the last four years, we have been punching above our weight. They are allowed their opinion, but we know ourselves and players that this season overall hasn’t been good enough. We have got ourselves into good positions a lot of the time, only to lose silly goals and throw points away. As a group, we are disappointed because we know we should have been ok this season. But it’s so important that we all really stick together now over the next week or so.”
Imrie pinpointed former team-mate Tony Andreu as one of the men Hamilton will need to look out for. He added: “We know Tony’s capabilities. He was here for a couple of years and is a fantastic player, that's why he got his move to Norwich. But I'm sure United have plenty of players we'll have to be wary of.
“You can see they have the desire to get up into the Premiership so it will be two tough games. We will give it everything and if we play like we did on Saturday I'm sure we will go in full of confidence and get the right result."
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