Scott McMann says it's time for Hamilton to step up and be counted
Hamilton defender Scott McMann believes the players have to ``step up'' after a worrying drop in form.
Accies are in turmoil off the field having fallen victim to major fraud last week, and their on-field fortunes are in sharp decline too.
Despite a promising start to the season, a run of five defeats on the bounce sees Martin Canning's side down in ninth place with just seven points following their latest loss against Motherwell on Saturday.
After the game, Canning questioned the lack of leadership within his squad after suffering several injuries to key players, and McMann admits the players have to shoulder the responsibility as they look to Saturday's trip to Ross County.
"The club captain Michael Devlin, he's the leader in the changing room and he's injured, so I think it's up to the rest of us to step up now and be leaders ourselves, instead of relying on other people,'' he said.
"(We know that) off our own back, we know that we need to stand up and be counted after the run of results we've had.
"We have to take responsibility.''
One thing in Accies' favour is their recent history, as they have shown they are capable of pulling results out of the bag when most needed.
Last season they survived a run of 11 games without a win to sneak 10th place on the final day of the season, and McMann thinks those recent experiences give the squad confidence despite their current slump and spate of injuries.
He said: "We always seem to suffer with injuries, but we pulled through it last season and we expect to pull through it again this season.
"We're no strangers to it. It does stand us in good stead. Results haven't been great recently but we're not panicking at all, we believe we have enough in the changing room, even with the injuries to go and get results.'