Martin Canning wants Hamilton to drag Kilmarnock back into relegation scrap
The Ayrshire side are unbeaten in five in the Premiership
Hamilton boss Martin Canning is looking to drag Kilmarnock back into the pack despite their recent improvements under Steve Clarke.
The Ayrshire club are unbeaten in five matches - including four wins - and have shot into the top five under Clarke, who took over in October.
It has been some impact from the former West Brom manager, who inherited a side without a win in the league under former manager Lee McCulloch but now sit five points clear of Hamilton, their opponents on Wednesday.
Accies themselves have been performing above expectations this season, but following a 1-0 defeat against struggling Partick Thistle they now have just one win in their last six matches.
Canning, however, is looking to close the gap with in-form Killie.
“I don't think anybody is (safe),” he said. “I think it will be a tight league again.
“You can see how quickly it can change, we didn't win at Partick and all of a sudden it's just three (points different with Thistle, who had been bottom).
“I think Kilmarnock are five ahead of us now, but if we win it's down to just two and close again.
“I think it will be a tight league all the way through and it's important for us that we react in the right manner and go again on Wednesday.”
He added: “If we beat them we are two points behind them, and that's got to be our main focus and then we have Motherwell after that so that makes it two huge games for us.
“We have to go all out to win both.”
Canning and his players will face a familiar face in Eamonn Brophy at the SuperSeal Stadium, with the former Accies man in fine form for Killie.
After coming through the ranks at Hamilton, the forward departed for Rugby Park and has played a big role in the recent improvements with four goals in his last five games, and Canning knows what to expect.
He said: “Obviously we know Eamonn well from his time here.
“It's funny that in the first six months, nobody mentions his name but he has come in, scored a couple of goals and now people are talking about him.
“That's football, Eamonn has moved on and we have good players here now as well. We know his strengths and weaknesses, and on his day he is a good player, but we have to make sure we deal with him."