Hamilton Accies bringing back Ryan Fulton right for team but unfair on Jamie Smith, admits boss

Hamilton boss John Rankin admits it was unfair to drop goalkeeper Jamie Smith for today's win over Alloa, but insists it was the best thing for the team.

Twenty-one-year-old Smith had been in a rich vein of form, earning him the August Player of the Month in League One after four straight clean sheets.

He was even handed a new three-year-deal at Accies last week.

But Ryan Fulton returned from a long-term thigh injury and went straight into the starting line-up for today's last-gasp win over Alloa.

Rankin had stated earlier in the week Fulton had played just 45 minutes of football this season and wasn't likely to be ready for the game.

And when asked about his decision to drop Smith, Rankin said: "When I looked at Fults, it was a case of when do we put him in?

"On Friday morning, it was a case of this: Is he ready? Probably not.

"Are we waiting on Jamie making a mistake before we put him in? That is probably the case.

"But is that fair on Jamie? No, because he has been absolutely brilliant.

"It was a spur of the moment thing.

"You ask yourself when is the right time to bring Fults back? And the right time is when you put his name on the team sheet.

"Ryan is 100 per cent fit but he is obviously going to be a bit rusty.

"He has only played 45 minutes and that's why I said through the week he probably wasn't ready.

"Games like today, a bounce game on Tuesday will help him get ready for next week.

"It is a case of playing games until you find your sharpness and I'm sure he'll find that over the coming weeks.

"But I felt for Jamie. From a personal point of view, it wasn't the right decision but from a team point of view, it probably was.

"Jamie has had a great start to the season and he is unfortunate to be left out, but he