Every match a cup final in relegation scrap, says Martin Canning
Hamilton face bottom two Partick Thistle and Ross County in their next games
Hamilton boss Martin Canning admits every game his side face in the final few weeks of the season is vitally important as they fight relegation.
Accies face basement club Partick Thistle on Saturday, before taking on Ross County the following week in what could be two potential relegation deciders.
With the way the split fixtures have gone, Hamilton - who are four points clear of County in 11th - could have secured their status before the end of the season, and Canning is aware of the importance of the next two weeks.
"Every game is a cup final,'' he said. "Every game will become more important than the previous game, but first things first, we've got to go and get three points against Thistle.
"The exciting thing about playing in the split is you're playing against teams around you, and the swings can be quite dramatic when you look at it.
"If we win the game it could be eight and if we lose it could be two, so that's the excitement of the split and playing teams around each other and that's why the games become more important.''
On whether it was a bonus to face the two bottom teams at the start of the run in, he added: "You can look at it and say the first couple of games they will be really motivated to go and do well in.
"If they lose the first two and you play them in the third or fourth game, they might not have the same motivation but the flip side is that it's totally in your own hands to go and do your own job.
"We know it's a huge game but you have to thrive in these situations and not be intimidated by it.''
A win over Thistle would put Accies eight points clear of the bottom club and potentially seven clear of the Ross County who hold the play-off place, and after surviving the play-offs last year, that is something Canning wants to avoid this time around.
"That wasn't a nice experience last year,'' he said.
"But we've been through it and it's good to know we can come through it, but we don't want to go through it again.'