Relieved Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin admits 'stick or twist' quandary at Arbroath as side seal play-off spot

Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin admits he is hugely relieved to still have a fighting chance of staying in the Scottish Championship after they avoided automatic relegation on goal difference.

Accies started the night bottom of the table but their 0-0 stalemate at Gayfield, coupled with Cove losing 2-1 to 10-man Morton, managed by Accies legend Dougie Imrie, meant them avoided the drop tonight by a mere five goals.

It means Accies must now negotiate the Championship play-offs to preserve their status in the second tier and will face either Alloa or Airdrie in Tuesday's semi-final first leg. They will play the fourth-place side in League One (currently Alloa) and their opponents will be confirmed after tomorrow's final League One matches.

After a nerve-wracking clash at Gayfield, Rankin said: "Relieved is the word for how I feel right now. I don't think at any time I felt comfortable.

"At no time did I think we deserved to win but I don't think Arbroath did either.

"In the last ten minutes, the players were coming over to our bench and asking: 'What's the score at Cove?'

"That's a tricky one for us. Do we stick or twist at that point?

"I decided to twist and go for it by throwing strikers on then I found out Morton had scored and we were now in a situation where we had to protect ourselves.

"But we are there. There was no celebrations after it and the players will be back to work for Tuesday.

"We are into a mini-league to stay in the Championship and my players will be up for it."

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