Hamilton manager Brian Rice has every faith in teenager Jamie Hamilton ahead of the teenager’s potential clash with Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.
Rangers visit South Lanarkshire this weekend as Hamilton face a daunting task on home soil. They currently sit one point off the relegation zone.
Hamilton face Rangers this weekend. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Rice says he will have no fears about fielding his young centre-back against the prolific Colombian.
He told the Daily Record (page 73, 21/11/19): “If Jamie plays he has to perform to a level to stop probably one of the best strikers in the league scoring a goal.
“The good thing about Jamie is his temperament. You could play him anywhere and you wouldn’t know if he was nervous or not. He doesn’t get fazed by it. If he makes a mistake it doesn’t seem to bother him.
Rice isn’t fazed by throwing Hamilton in against Morelos. (photo by David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)
“So I’ve every confidence if Jamie plays it doesn’t matter who we’re playing and where we’re playing, he will relish it. He’s living up to everything we expect of him.”
Hamilton without key stars ahead of Rangers match
Young Hamilton will have a tough task on Sunday and he’ll not have some of Accies’ key men to help him out either.
Sam Stubbs and Scott Martin won’t make the match as they are suspended. On the injury front, they have Blair Alston, Brian Easton, Ryan Fulton, Marios Ogkmpoe, Ciaran McKenna and Aaron McGowan to deal with.
McGowan could miss the game. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
It leaves Rice with few options and youngsters like Hamilton and Lewis Smith will be asked to step up. It’ll be a tricky task for Accies, with a 20-4 aggregate scoreline in Rangers’ favour over their last five meetings highlighting the difficult nature of the match.
Hamilton will have Morelos to contend with, a man who’s scored 22 goals this term. As far as learning curves go, this could be a pretty steep one for the 17-year-old if he isn’t careful.