Bottom Of The Table Clash

Last updated : 16 October 2010 By Ed_ScottishFitba
stmirren jpegPaul Gallacher could return for St Mirren's game against Hamilton at New St Mirren Park today. The Buddies keeper missed the last game against Motherwell with a swollen knee which has shown signs of improvement. However, Steven Thomson (calf), David Barron (knee), Craig Dargo (knee) and Sean Lynch (knock) are still out. Midfielder Patrick Cregg will go into the game still fuelled by a sense of gratitude towards Buddies' boss Danny Lennon. The Irishman was freed by Hibs at the end of the summer, but despite enjoying a good reputation in the game, he had to wait until the beginning of this month before he had secured a deal with an SPL club. Cregg admits enduring a fraught summer as he battled with hundreds of other out-of-contract players to catch the eye, and he aims to repay Lennon's faith in him.

He said: "It's not nice training on your own every day but you have to get through it. It is hard to motivate yourself but the motivation is that you have no other choice. I never got to the stage of thinking I had no choices. It wasn't a question of panicking, I was just wanting the chance to get in somewhere, that was the main priority at that stage. It is very hard and not nice to be in that situation and it makes you appreciate coming into training every day and I'm grateful for the opportunity. I had played a game for Morton before I signed for St Mirren until January. It is up to me to make the most of it here and my goal is to repay the manager for giving me the chance.''

hamilton jpegHamilton boss Billy Reid has an unchanged squad to pick from. Alex Neil is still working his way back to fitness following hip surgery while James Gibson remains a long-term absentee following his serious knee injury. The Saints have lost their last four SPL games but will come off the bottom rung if they beat the hosts. Reid, whose side have taken two points from their last four SPL games to leave them one point better off than their hosts, will draw on his survival experience if things do not go to plan in Paisley. He did, however, try to  play down the significance of the game.

He said: "Games between clubs at that end of the table are always significant but it is early in the season. We have been here before and we are not going to worry about it. I believe that what we are doing at the club is correct and we will continue to do that even if the result was to go against us. The important thing for a club like Hamilton is not to panic. I don't think we have had the points we deserved in the last four or five weeks. When you go on a run of games when you have not picked up points, I think it is easy to panic and change your game plan, maybe going back to front a lot earlier. We try not to do that, try to stay focused and keep doing the things that served us well. The one thing I guarantee is that we will go there, get the ball down and try to play and if we cut out the mistakes we can win the game. One thing we have to do is shut up shop. We have given too many cheap goals away defensively and that's something we have spoken about this week. We played well at Celtic Park in the last game but the important thing now is to make sure we get the points.''
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