Airdrie have 'once in a lifetime' chance after Hamilton punishment, says Mason Hancock
Airdrie defender Mason Hancock says the club have been given a 'once in a lifetime' chance following Hamilton Accies' 15-point deduction.
But he admits news of their rivals' SPFL punishment impacted their performance in Saturday's defeat to Morton.
The Diamonds were sitting rock bottom and looked doomed until Thursday's announcement that Accies were being docked 15 points and fined £9,000 for multiple SPFL breaches.
That sent Accies to the bottom of the table and lifted Airdrie up into the relegation play-off spot.
Saturday's clash with Morton provided the chance for Airdrie to close the gap on those above them, but a Tomi Adeloye strike in the first half inflicted a 1-0 defeat that has left them destined for the play-offs, at best.
John Rankin's Accies were relegated on Saturday, subject to their appeal of the judgement, while Airdrie are now sitting seven points clear of Hamilton with two games to go.
Hancock admits it is a potentially huge reprieve for the Diamonds, but felt it led to a lacklustre display against Ton.
He said: "You don't need to be Einstein to figure out how we were feeling when we heard the news. It was a great feeling and a bit of luck is what we feel we've been needing all season and it has come our way.
"But it means nothing when you go and perform like that a couple of days later.
"It has obviously affected the boys' heads. When you watch that game, you can see we were not ourselves. There was no life in our play.
"We worked on things in the week and we didn't apply it to the game, it is frustrating.
"There was a lot of noise coming into this game and we've been gifted a chance - a once in a lifetime chance - to stay in this division.
"I am focused on my own mind, I can't control other boys' minds, but something went wrong out there. Whether it is a mentality thing or fitness, I can't lay a finger on it.
"But something didn't gel today. I thought we were flat, there was no purpose in the way we played and we didn't take on our information from the manager in training, so it is a deserved loss.
"It is up to six points now [from nearest rivals Queen's Park] and we are way behind on goal difference, but you can never say never at the end of the day. We will go and fight in the next two games, we won't give up and just wait for the play-offs.
"It looks like we are going to do it the hard way [to stay up]. There's some angry boys in there, but if you told us in January we were going to have a fighting chance of the play-offs, then we would have taken it."
The Diamonds were sitting a massive 13 points adrift at the foot of the table in January and recent results had given their hope of pulling off a great escape, even before Hamilton's punishment.
Hancock added: "It has been a great fightback. Everyone away from this building wrote us off. But we believed and we still believe going into these next few games.
"We feel there was a great chance to grab that seventh or eighth spot, but we've really let ourselves down today."
Airdrie head to seventh-place Dunfermline on Saturday and then host Ayr United in the final match on Friday, May 2.
They will remain in limbo while Hamilton's appeal is heard and the outcome of that is expected ahead of the final fixture round of the season.
"Some clarity would be nice, but at the end of the day it is none of our business," said Hancock. "We have been handed a lifeline and we are looking to take it.
"There's no fear in this team and I feel we've learned quickly as the season has gone on and we will, hopefully, take that into the play-offs."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Hearts money, investment, budget and transfers put to the test
SPFL Premiership progress will determine the worth of the overhaul Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Player contracts and transfer fees totalling millions of pounds are designed to restore Hearts as one of Scottish football's main challengers. Four new coaches and seven new signings are in place. Paperwork is signed and stored in the Tynecastle Park filing cabinet, which remains unlocked for more new deals to be added. The bulk of a necessary overhaul is done. The work is now about to be properly tested. The William Hill Scottish Premiership kicks off this weekend while new-look Hearts look on. Their opening game is delayed until Monday night for the benefit of Sky Sports. After a frenetic summer of activity, Derek McInnes' team is primed to take on Aberdeen. McInnes and assistants Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald left Kilmarnock for Gorgie in May, followed by set-piece coach Ross Grant and seven new recruits. At least two more will follow. The changing face of Hearts has literally cost millions in compensation, transfer fees, signing-on fees and wages. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We are about to discover whether it was all worth it. The Aberdeen game alone won't define the campaign but over the coming weeks it will become clear just how much McInnes, Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics have rejuvenated Hearts. Finishing seventh in last season's Premiership wasn't acceptable, hence the change of manager and influx of new players. The management team will watch rival teams open their league campaigns over the weekend in anticipation of a powderkeg fixture at Tynecastle on Monday. 'We're all getting out to watch games this weekend,' said McInnes. 'I've seen Motherwell, picked them up this season, and picked St Mirren up this season already. You always like to see what teams are doing, new signings and whatever. Like last season: What teams are playing a back five? What teams are committing to a back four? You try and get a flavour of how they're going to be and you always see what the new signings are like. 'There is that interest to see what players are bringing to different clubs, but I think tactics and systems can sometimes be a bit overplayed. I think it's all about whoever makes the good signings. That can be key because I think clearly there are a lot of people doing it their own way and a lot of people are investing money. We've just got to assume that everybody's doing their job well, but we've got to be doing our job as well as we can. If we're doing the job as well as we can with the budget that's afforded to me, with the resource that we've got, with the facilities and everything else, we should be expecting a lot more from ourselves than we did last year. There's no doubt about it.' Seven new arrivals joined Hearts following the end of last season: Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis, Portuguese forward Claudio Braga, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Belgian striker Elton Kabangu, Scottish centre-back Stuart Findlay and Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota. Burkinabe forward Pierre Landry Kabore and Icelandic midfielder Tomas Bent Magnusson should take that tally to nine in the coming days. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad All concerned are itching to get started in the league after four wins from four in the Premier Sports Cup group phase. 'It's been a long week. It's one of these unusual weeks when you have to wait to the Monday,' admitted McInnes. 'Players had Sunday, Monday off, just on the back of the schedule they've had. We've worked three pretty tough days, three proper working days. We had the bounce game [against Dundee] on Wednesday. It still feels Monday is a million miles away, though. 'Normally, you get to this point in the week and you're getting the juices flowing for the game, but they're making us wait for this game. I think it will be worth the wait. I do think the positives of the game being Monday allows us to maybe get one or two closer to playing through the injury side of it. and obviously it gives us a wee bit longer to get one or two players registered and signed as well [Kabore and Magnusson]. We are trying to take the benefits of that. 'The game itself is everything you want from the first game of the season. A home game, live on Sky, sellout, up against a good team with good players. There will be a lot of good players on the pitch on Monday night. We just want to make sure we're as prepared as we can, which I think we are. We'd like to be more certain of who's available in terms of if we can get the people we want signed and in terms of one or two of the injuries, but that's not unusual on that side of it for a manager. Come Monday, we've just got to be ready to go. SPFL Scottish Premiership starts as Hearts look ready for Aberdeen at Tynecastle 'I think we look ready. We look fit, we look competitive, we look motivated. We look as if we've got good options. I think the pre-season, although it's never truly an indication, there have been plenty of goals, plenty of clean sheets and a nice feel-good factor. It's important that we try to keep this feeling as long as we can. Well aware there'll be a belt in the mouth around the corner, which we want to keep to a minimum this season. Hopefully we can just keep this feeling that we're all getting at the minute going. When the first game proper starts, as it will on Monday, just try and come out the other end of it with three points. Every manager this weekend will just try to get that first win as quickly as possible. We are no different.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wednesday's bounce match at Riccarton ended in a 2-2 draw with Dundee. A number of Hearts first-team squad members were given game time. 'It was good. Dundee brought a strong team down. We had 14 training and we took the luxury of playing players that hadn't had enough 90 minutes,' explained McInnes. 'I think nine that played hadn't had 90 minutes throughout pre-season, such is the way. So, I think only [Michael] Steinwender and [Stephen] Kingsley had played 90 minutes for us in pre-season. 'Everybody else managed to get a bit of football and, from that point of view, it was quite a challenge for them in terms of getting through the game from a fitness point of view. They came through with flying colours. We were quite an attack-minded team with what we had on the pitch, but we competed well. Dundee got a lot from the game as well as we did. It's better for these boys to play a game rather than just continually training. I think it was much-needed for the lads that hadn't been involved as much.' As Scottish Cup holders who finished joint-fourth in last year's Premiership, Aberdeen again have serious aspirations under manager Jimmy Thelin. They started last season like a train but then lost momentum after Christmas. Winning the cup for the first time in 35 years brought a successful ending. 'I think they've got a lot of good players, first and foremost,' acknowledged McInnes. 'It was an unusual season from their point of view, how kind of up-and-down it was, but to finish the season with a cup win, good on them for that. They deserve a lot of credit. 'I think they'll be buoyant from that. A lot is expected of them again this season. Other clubs, ourselves included, have invested and are doing their own way of trying to recruit players. You're always mindful that others are doing their work well. We just need to make sure we try to do our job as well as we can. In terms of Monday night's game, I think it's a tough game for both teams, but hopefully we can make it tougher for them. They have got a lot of good players, players that can make a difference, and we've got to be aware of that.' READ MORE: Hearts team to face Aberdeen
Daily Record
17 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.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
St Mirren need to 'defy the odds' again in top-six bid
Stephen Robinson is targeting a fourth consecutive top-six finish with St Mirren this season as they attempt to "defy the odds" Buddies manager believes his side have "raised expectations" and praised his players and staff prior to their opening fixture against champions Celtic on Sunday."You've got to try and do it again. Out with Rangers and Celtic, we're the only team that have had three top-six finishes, that's a huge challenge for us now," said Robinson."The landscape is getting more and more difficult to do this. When you look at the investment into the bigger clubs in the country, in reality, they should all finish in the top six."But football's not played on paper and finance books and we have to upset the odds and be in a position that if somebody doesn't do their job, that is expected of them, that we're able to take advantage of that, which we've done the last three seasons."I have huge belief in the players. We've got a core of players who have done that over the last three years. Probably 14, 15 of them have been regularly involved in that and we believe we've added more quality, more pace and different options from the bench as well that perhaps we didn't have."You need a little bit of luck, you need a little bit of fortune to go your way and if it does, why not try and do it four years in a row?"It seems to be that we are expected to get top six and people are talking that we should be challenging for Europe."That certainly isn't based on the infrastructure or the finances of the football club. It's based on the players and that's credit to them."Credit to the staff, the support staff as well because we've got a very small support staff who do a lot of work in the background that people don't see."Together as a small team but a very good team, we believe we've raised the expectations and we need to do the same again, we need to defy the odds."
