Hamilton Accies owner asks fans to rally round Rankin ahead of Falkirk clash, as he addresses calls to sack under-fire boss

Hamilton Accies owner Seref Zengin has backed under-fire boss John Rankin and called on supporters to stick together ahead of Saturday’s massive top-of-the-table clash with Falkirk.

The League One club suffered an embarrassing 3-2 defeat to lowly Annan at the weekend which put a huge dent in their hopes of catching the Bairns, who are currently eight points clear with a game in hand.

Accies trailed 2-0 and mounted a comeback to level the game at 2-2 in the 90th minute, only for Annan to hit them with the sucker punch of a stoppage time winner.

It sparked some ugly scenes at New Douglas Park with fans chanting ‘Rankin Out’. At one point, a club analyst also had to be led away after confronting an angry fan in the stands.

Some supporters then turned towards the directors box, urging Zengin to take action and relieve Rankin of his duties, but the Bellshill-based businessman insists a change of a manager is the furthest thing from his mind, as the club also try to negotiate the purchase of New Douglas Park from its current owners.

Now, with a massive must-win match at the Falkirk Stadium this Saturday, Zengin has spoken out, urging the supporters to stick with Rankin and support the team, even when the chips are down.

Speaking exclusively to Lanarkshire Live Sport , Zengin said: “On Saturday, the fans were going absolutely mental and some of that is understandable because your team is 1-0 down after 33 minutes – but it was against the run of play.

“They started booing the players and shouting at John, but that is something that doesn’t help anyone or keep the players focused and motivated.

“So I’d like the fans to understand that I am completely behind our manager. We are all focused on winning the league and we still