Clarke hails Kilmarnock's winning habit

Clarke's side were not at their swashbuckling best but still had more than enough to comfortably dispose of the Lanarkshire outfit in front of nearly 5,000 Rugby Park fans.

In truth, Killie were set to win the match from the minute that Lee Erwin expertly had them ahead. That fifth-minute strike was added to in first-half stoppage time when Stephen O'Donnell scored a freak long range goal, and Clarke emphasised the importance of a winning mentality at the club.

At the moment the team have got into the habit of winning and that's crucial,'' the 54 year-old said.It wasn't a great game of football but the real moments of quality came from us. That's why we came out on top.

`My only criticism of the team is that we didn't get that third goal when we had the chances. That would really have killed the game off.'

Clarke also heaped praise on Erwin who had the hosts ahead early on when he swivelled and fired past Gary Woods. The former Motherwell man has been a bit-part player since joining Killie in July but is still seen as a valuable squad member.

Lee has been great since January', Clarke said.He's not had as many starts as he deserves because his work in training has been top class and he's been performing in matches too. He's scored in each of his last three starts so it's a really valuable contribution. He's got a bright future ahead of him.'

Erwin's opener did not go down so well with Hamilton boss Martin Canning, who bemoaned his side's lack of belief in the final third.

Accies have lost six of their last nine and have not tasted victory on the road this calendar year.

Canning cut a frustrated figure for large swathes of the match and seemed to have his hands permanently grasped on the top of his head in disbelief.

It wasn't the best start,' he said.The first goal was a disappointing one to lose and the second was a freak strike. I think O'Donnell's just tried to help the ball back into the danger area and it's missed everybody and rolled in the bottom corner.

`We had two very similar scrambles in the box in the second-half and they didn't go in the net so we didn't really get the breaks today. But we also failed to show a real belief to win the game.

`Kilmarnock believed they were going to win the game. We only hoped we were. That was the difference.

`I don't think there was much between the teams. The chances were pretty even but they got the goals at crucial times and it was always an uphill task when we went 2-0 down just before half-time. We came out in the second-half and tried to get back into the game but I don't think the players really believed that they could win.'

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