Hamilton Accies 'father figure' Brian Easton will handle new dad duties with relegation fight, says boss John Rankin

Hamilton boss John Rankin reckons new dad Brian Easton will have no problems juggling the demands of their relegation battle with the birth of his first child - because he's already a father figure in the Accies dressing room.

The 35-year-old defender and his wife welcomed their baby daughter into the world last Thursday and it came at a perfect time for both Easton and Accies, with no game scheduled last weekend due to the Scottish Cup.

Easton has spent almost eight years at Accies across three different spells and has seen plenty of kids come through the club's academy. He continues to help the younger ones at the club this season, with 16-year-old Ryan One and 17-year-old Chrissy McGinn featuring regularly for the first team.

And Rankin believes he can rely on Easton to balance a life-changing moment off the field with the exertions of helping Accies claw themselves away from the wrong end of the table, in a three-way relegation battle with bottom side Arbroath and eighth place Cove Rangers.

Rankin said: "Easty has been a father figure for us in the dressing room this season so I'm sure he'll take to it like a duck to water.

"His wife had the baby in the early hours of Thursday morning so he was back in on Monday, bright- eyed and bushy tailed.

"I think he is enjoying fatherhood. The baby is here and he will need to adjust to that side of it, lack of sleep and things like that, but I don't think I'll need to give him any advice. I'm sure he will handle it.

"Easty is 35 and well aware of how he can affect games for us between now and the end of the season.

"He knows he isn't going to play every game, but it is a case of us managing him so that he is fit when required."

This weekend Accies face a big clash at home to