Champions Hamilton Accies won't relax in final league clash as they chase goals record
Hamilton Accies Women are already SPWL2 champions and will receive the trophy on Sunday as they host Rossvale in their last game of the season – but there will be no let-up.
Boss Robert Watson reckons they owe it to the rest of the league to go out with all guns blazing, while also chasing a goals record.
It happens all too often that trophy day is hampered by a poor result, and Watson is determined not to let that happen.
He said: 'The day that you pick up the title you want to make sure you win as well, and that's what we'll be doing.
'I think it would be disrespectful to the league to not prepare properly, and Rossvale and Ayr United still have something to play for, so it wouldn't be right if we just took things lightly – that's not how we approach things.
'We've got our own targets, and we want to finish the season on over 100 league goals, and with the best defensive record.
'That's going to require us to keep a clean sheet and score a couple of goals, so we've still got a focus this week on what we want to achieve.
'That would be the final cherry on top for a season, but we have to go and deliver that as well.
'We're on 98 league goals going into the final game, and we have the best defensive record in the league. When you factor in the goals we scored in the cups that's 104 goals we've scored.
'There has only been one game that we've failed to score in, going into the weekend, which is just incredible.
'We've only actually lost five league games, one cup game, and in the Motherwell game we went out on penalties, so it was a draw over 120 minutes.
'We've set a club record in clean sheets as well, it has been an absolutely incredible season for them.
'I'm really keen to make sure the players get the credit they deserve, because they've worked so hard.
'It's probably no secret that I can be really tough on them at times, and I'm really demanding, but ultimately when they go across the white line it's up to the players.
'More often than not, they've delivered this season, and that's why they've picked up a title.'
It's full circle for both Watson and captain Megan Quinn, and the gaffer said: 'We won the inaugural SWPL2 title in 2016, so it's nice to bookend it. I was assistant manager in that year, Gary Doctor was the manager, and it's nice to bookend it, being the manager and picking it up.
'Megan Quinn had a great testimonial to send her off, and she's now able to pick up the SWPL2 title as the final thing in her career, having picked it up in 2016, is again a nice way to bookend her career as an Accies player and captain.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
18 hours ago
- Daily Record
Hamilton Accies boss says quitting has 'never crossed my mind' amid chaos off the pitch
John Rankin is preparing his side for Saturday's League One opener after a summer of turmoil Hamilton boss John Rankin insists he has never considered walking away from Accies amid months of turmoil off the pitch. Just in the past few months, Rankin has had to keep his players focused on football while the club was hit with blow after blow due to the actions of the Hamilton hierarchy. Having been hit with a 15-point deduction by the SPFL due to the club being found guilty of multiple rule breaches, including remuneration defaults with six players, the club was relegated from the Championship as a result. Days later, the club then announced they were leaving their hometown after a fallout with the owners of New Douglas Park, upping sticks for Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. Even that wasn't straightforward, with the club left sweating on their lease being approved as the SPFL demanded alterations to the lease and North Lanarkshire Council insisted on a year's rent upfront for it to go ahead. And in the last week, the club has been hammered by the SPFL again with a season-long transfer embargo, imposed due to the club failing to fulfil its tax obligations to HMRC. That has left Rankin with one arm tied behind his back before the league season has even kicked-off, and he will now be forced to field youngsters to get a team on the pitch. Many could forgive Rankin for feeling enough is enough, but asked if he had thought about quitting, he told Lanarkshire Live Sport: "The last couple of months have been quite a turbulent time, there's always been something going on. "You feel like you've picked yourself up to go again and then you get your feet swiped away from you again. "But it has never crossed my mind [to leave]. "The thing that motivates me and keeps the rest of the staff going are these players. Working away with them every day, we see how much they are putting in. "So seeing their commitment and desire, playing through the pain barrier, giving it blood, sweat and tears to try and achieve their goals in their career, it speaks volumes for them." Accies are still aiming to bounce straight back to the Championship and Rankin hopes his threadbare squad can find a way to use their plight as fuel to fire them to promotion. He added: "This season is going to be a big challenge, but in my full career at the club it has been a challenge. "We are not going to shirk away from a challenge now because we can't bring in players and make the squad as big as we would hope for. "It brings everybody closer together and we need to have a strong mentality to get through games. "There's an extra six games this season because of the way the [Challenge] cup is this season as well. "So the hard part is trying to judge how to let the players recover and keep them as fresh as possible, but we are fortunate that we've got sports scientists to look at the data on that. "Players are going to have to keep churning out performances. There's a lot to think about over the last week for them and it has been a lot of work, but we have to make sure we get players in prime condition.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
Hamilton Accies may fly 16-year-old starlet over from Northern Ireland for Montrose opener amid squad struggles
A transfer embargo has hit Hamilton hard and boss John Rankin admits he is in a quadary with Accies U17s going well at the SuperCupNI Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin admits the club may have to fly 16-year-old midfielder Josh Carson back from Northern Ireland in time to face Montrose in Saturday's League One opener because their squad is so stretched. Having been hit with a transfer embargo last week, Accies are unable to strengthen their squad unless they bring in under-19 players or amateurs and that has left them with just 19 players to choose from. However, midfielder Barry Maguire and Kyle MacDonald are set to miss the clash through injury and Rankin is considering flying academy talent Carson back to Scotland for Saturday's clash at Broadwood. Carson - who made his Accies debut in last week's Premier Sports Cup defeat to Dumbarton - is currently overseas with Accies' under-17 in the SuperCupNI, and the team features in the semi-finals tonight against Southampton. Victory there could see Accies face Manchester United tomorrow in the final and that has left Rankin in a quandary. He told Lanarkshire Live Sport: "Right now, Josh is playing for the under-17s in the Super Cup over in Northern Ireland and the boys are in the semi-final tonight. "For me, I need to wait and see how the boys get on before maybe having to fly him back on Friday night or Saturday morning for the game at the weekend. "But, at the same time, these experiences may stand him in good stead later on in the season or his career. "We need him to experience as much high quality football as he can. The boys could play Man Utd in the final tomorrow if they get through, so I need to consider what is best for him. "That's the situation we find ourselves in just now when we are relying on our young players. "But our senior pros also need to stand up and shoulder the responsibility to let the young kids go and learn for their careers." Carson played alongside fellow 16-year-old debutant Aaron Eadie against Dumbarton and Rankin revealed he waited until the last possible moment to tell them the news. He added: "Over the course of my coaching career, I have never sat young players down and built it up for them. "For instance, at the weekend there we knew Josh Carson was going to play, but if we'd told him on the Friday, he probably wouldn't have slept. "We never told him until Saturday that he was going to play. "We did the same thing when Ryan One was here. Sometimes if you give kids too much time to think about it, they spend too much time worrying about the opportunity and lose focus on what is in front of them. "So the most important thing is to let them go and enjoy their football. "We are talking about Josh and Aaron Eadie as two 16-year-olds and there are not many players their age ready to go and play men's first team football. "But what this does for them is give them an idea of where they are and what they need to improve on."
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Daily Record
Former Partick Thistle star 'honoured' to be handed Hamilton Accies armband
The 33-year-old midfielder has taken the armband for the League One side Hamilton Accies have announced Scott Robinson will be the club's cpatin for the 2025/26 season in League One. The former Partick Thistle midfielder take the armband during a turbulent time for the club, following their relegation from the Championship last season and their subsequent season-long transfer embargo announced last week. But the club are sticking together with Accies gaffer John Rankin staying on amid the turmoil and picking Robinson to lead the players on the pitch. Robinson, 33, made 14 appearance for Accies last term after joining from Partick in February and he says he is thrilled to take on the responsibility ahead of Saturday's opener at home to Montrose. Robinson said: 'It's a huge honour to be given the armband for this massive campaign coming up. I won't change who I am about the place, I'll just be my usual self and that's probably why the gaffer has chosen me. "I'm excited for the challenge ahead but we all need to play our part. There's a lot of experienced boys in the dressing room, as well as the young ones that will be involved this year. 'It's about setting high standards, I won't change how I am or how I do things but we all need to chip in. "It is going to be e really tough season with what's happened to us [the embargo] but we need to look forward to the challenge. We need to keep the young boys on track. "I've had lots of good captains in my career. I had Marius Žaliūkas when I was at Hearts, who brought me on as a young boy and really looked after me, so now it is time for me to be that figure for the younger ones coming through. "We need to just try and get the job done to get promoted. We know it is not going to be easy now, the squad will be very thin, but the young boys can play their part now. "They are all good, honest, young boys who work their socks off. I am going to be there to help them and when they make a mistake, I'll pick them up." Accies gaffer John Rankin said: "Robbo came in last season and immediately lifted the standards in training. His energy and professionalism was clear to see and that made an impact on the pitch. 'He's an important character in the dressing room and will be important when it comes to working with the youth that will play a part in the first team this season.'
