Hamilton Accies boss demands focus as they close in on Viaplay Cup progress

Hamilton Accies beating Cove Rangers guarantees they qualify for the Viaplay Cup last-16, and boss John Rankin has demanded they focus on that, rather than results elsewhere.

Tuesday night’s results mean that a win for Accies at New Douglas Park puts them through on 11 points from Group C, but defeat and a win for Livingston against Clyde would see them and Cove overtake Rankin’s men.

A draw on Saturday may be enough to put Accies through, should they take the bonus point.

But Rankin is focused on a win that would eliminate doubt, following Saturday’s 4-1 shoot-out win over Livingston after the Premiership side held them to a draw with a last-gasp leveller.

“We just need to take care of our own business now,” said Rankin.

“There have been difficult games and it’s about ‘can you get through them with the points’ and so far we have.

“We’ve got ourselves into a decent position, but that’s all it is – hopefully we can capitalise on that on Saturday.

“It’s really complicated to understand the rest of it, so the main thing is that you take care of your own business on Saturday and you know where you stand at the end of the day.

“Right now we’ve got eight points out of nine, so it’s a decent return.

“We’ve got a chance now to get through to the next round. All you can ask is that you give yourself an opportunity with a game to go, and we’ve done that, so hopefully we can see it over the line.”

Rankin says the draw at Livi gives his side huge confidence going into the League One campaign, but they should have taken three points.

He said: “It’s a new group coming together, but they can see they can compete against a Premiership team the way we did and that gives us confidence.

“If I’m being honest, I’m disappointed in the stage