Hamilton and Motherwell will have a chance to see who is the top dog in Lanarkshire in the same division again next season.

Hamilton are safe in the SPL for another season and their captain Alex Neil is delighted  - but wishes the Lanarkshire team had been responsible for the decisive result. They secured their place on a Saturday when they lost 3-0 at home against Motherwell thanks to wins for Kilmarnock and St Mirren which meant they are safe and will not be involved in the weekend's nail-biting relegation deciders. Midfielder Neil lifted the First Division trophy 12 months ago and is thrilled to have been a key member of the first Hamilton side to earn a second consecutive season of top-flight football.

He said: "It's a great feeling to stay up - over the course of the season, we've deserved to earn our place in the league. For me, though, the result has put a dampener on the day because if we'd won the game we've have stayed up by doing it ourselves, whereas having Kilmarnock win their game and keep us in the league is really disappointing. It was bittersweet at the final whistle because we were really angry with the way we performed but Kilmarnock did us a big favour - it's always nicer to have the points on the board, which we did before the game, so the pressure was on other teams to pick up points instead. Even though we were beaten, though, staying in the league and knowing that we'll be in the SPL next year is fantastic and we'll look forward to next season. I think a lot of people tipped us to go back down because we were an unknown quantity and nobody knew what we were like, so it's nice to prove people wrong."

Motherwell's three goals in the derby win came from David Clarkson, Cillian Sheridan and John Sutton, and the opening scorer was delighted to take his tally for the season to 14. The Fir Park side have been safe from the bottom-six relegation battle but Clarkson revealed it was an easy task for the team to motivate themselves for the derby and welcomed the continued chance to lock horns with their Lanarkshire rivals next term.

He said: "Players know it's the end of the season but it's a derby and there's a bit of pride at stake so we came here looking for the win and the important thing was that we played well and took our chances. This was probably the easiest game for the players to get ourselves up for (since the split) - we always want to perform well, especially in derbies, and I think we showed we were up for it, all the boys played well and it was great to get the result. My goal came from great play by Cillian, who had a great game - he was unlucky not to score it himself but he played it back to me and I put it in. I was delighted as that's the best record I've got in the league so far. Despite the defeat, Hamilton are safe and they'll be delighted - all the best to them, and we'll be here battling again next season."
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