Frankie McAvoy is keen for Hamilton to make a managerial appointment soon and end the "uncertainty" at the club. Last night's 5-0 defeat at Partick was a third on the spin since Alex Neil left for Norwich, where McAvoy will also be heading after this weekend's game against Inverness. Neil's former assistant at the club was in charge for the trip to Firhill in the absence of suspended caretaker player-manager Martin Canning, who watched from the stands as Kris Doolan scored four times for the home side.
McAvoy said: "Goals change games. We concede a goal and then I could sense a wee bit of nervousness and a few of them maybe feeling a bit sorry for themselves. Martin being suspended has probably had an impact on the result and performance. There is a wee bit of uncertainty at the club and I'm sure the board will hopefully announce an appointment in the short term." The future of defender Stephen Hendrie is also uncertain now that a bid from West Ham has fallen apart despite the club and player agreeing the terms on offer. McAvoy said: "I don't know anything about it other than the speculation. Stephen is fine, he is level-headed and prepared well. Unfortunately, sometimes you have bad games."
As for Partick, their manager Alan Archibald predicted brighter times ahead for Doolan, who doubled his season's tally with a four-some that included an extravagant backheel and a fine header. He said: "They were all terrific goals, from the build-up play and his finishing as well. I know his backheel will get the plaudits but I thought his header was fantastic with a great delivery in the box as well. We were talking before the game, he was on a better run last season at this time. He has been in and out but hopefully that will give him confidence. We were outstanding from the word go. We knew we had to be as Hamilton are probably the hardest team to play in the league with their work-rate and quality going forward, but we more than matched them and got the goals at the right time."