Hamilton have always been near the bottom half of the league, and that’s partly not their fault. With limited resources and a tiny fanbase, it’s hard for a team the size of Accies to survive in the Premiership every year. They always seem to do it though.
That being said, even with limited funds, Martin Canning has to get a fresh creative player in the door this month to aid Hamilton’s survival bid. Against a much-changed Motherwell side on Saturday, they couldn’t break them down, which is a concern for the Accies faithful.
The South Lanarkshire outfit do have the ability to grind out draws and marginal victories, but they don’t have that creative flair in their side to grab a foothold in a game.
That has to change in the winter window.
Canning hasn’t replaced last season’s creative stars
Last season Hamilton had a drive going forward, and this came from David Templeton. The winger moved down south to Burton Albion in the summer, and his two partners in crime have also moved on.
In the first half of last season, Templeton and Greg Docherty were a lethal combination. Their efforts in the early half of the season saw Hamilton fly up the table, and it saved them from the drop.
In the second half of the campaign, when Docherty departed for Rangers, Lewis Ferguson stepped up and took his place.
It was a like for like swap, with Ferguson becoming a mainstay with Templeton in place of Docherty. Like his former teammate though, Accies couldn’t hold onto Ferguson, and he departed for Aberdeen in the summer.
Templeton was out the door too, and quickly any attacking spark Hamilton had was gone. Each of them would provide flair in the final third, something Canning now doesn’t have.
None of their current central midfielders have replaced Ferguson, whilst Mikael Miller and James Keatings have been played out of position.
You take your best player out the side, you feel his loss. Take your three best men away, and the effects are catastrophic. Hamilton have three attacking voids that need filled this month. If they don’t fill them they may not be lucky enough to survive the drop this season.