Emotional Hamilton Accies boss 'didn't sleep' after SFA appeal defeat, as he hails players for Falkirk showing
Emotional John Rankin hailed his Hamilton Accies players after giving Falkirk a real scare just 24 hours after being relegated.
Accies lost their SFA appeal on Thursday night regarding a 15-point deduction for multiple breaches of SPFL rules, sending them to League One next season.
But the players rallied from that bombshell to produce a valiant display in Grangemouth on a night Falkirk came from 1-0 down to triumph 3-1 - and pip title rivals Livingston to the Championship crown.
Scott Robinson fired Accies in front after just five minutes to put Livi in the drving seat, bundling the ball home at the back post from close range.
That lead lasted until the 33rd minute when Ethan Ross fired a free-kick straight down the middle of the goal and Accies keeper Dean Lyness made a hash of it to gift the hosts a leveller.
That fired Falkirk up and, just shy of the hour mark, Ross capitalised on more poor defending from Accies to scramble the ball home from a corner.
And in 71 minutes Calvin Miller completed their victory when he drilled a low strike into the bottom corner, beyond the despairing dive of Lyness.
But Rankin praised his players for giving him their all in difficult circumstances. He commented: "I just said 'Thank you' to my players. I'm a bit emotional at the moment as I never slept last night.
"But I awoke knowing they would give me everything and that's what they did.
"These players don't know what the future holds but they know how to stick together. I honestly don't care about the result, I just wanted a performance and I got that."
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