New fitness regime paying off for Hamilton striker Alex D'Acol

Hamilton boss Martin Canning believes striker Alex D'Acol is now eating up his chances in front of goal after fighting the flab.

The Brazilian joined Accies 18 months ago after more than a decade plying his trade in Greek football. But the former Olympiacos and AEK Athens frontman struggled in his first season at the SuperSeal Stadium, failing to net a single goal.

Canning, however, recognised that fitness issues were holding the 30-year-old back and decided he was worth a new one-year deal so long as he could lose weight.

And the Accies manager has been left delighted as a new slim-line D'Acol has repaid his faith by serving up five goals already this term, including crucial strikes against Inverness, Aberdeen and most recently Partick Thistle last Saturday.

Canning said: "Alex has been great so far this season. We took him back in the summer because we saw enough last season, even though he didn't really get going.

"For guys like Alex who have never played in British football before and particularly in Scotland, it can be difficult to adjust when you're coming from a different style of play. It takes time to settle.

"He had to get a lot fitter. The way he had played in Greece, the game was a lot slower and more technical. It wasn't as demanding as it is here.

"I don't know the Greek league too well but I can guarantee you Scottish football is 100 times quicker and a lot more physical. That's what Alex had to get to grips with.

"But this season he is a lot leaner and gets about the park a lot better. He understands how physical the game is up here - it's 90 minutes of non-stop work.

"He has bought right into that, as I knew he would when I brought him back in. He has adjusted to life in Scotland and likes it here.

"He now has the stamina to make an impact and he's a big asset for us."

Hamilton travel to the Highlands to take on Ladbrokes Premiership basement boys Inverness on Saturday.

But Canning is refusing to be fooled by their lowly position in the table.

"Inverness are a strong team," he insisted. "They find themselves at the bottom of the league right now but I don't think you can look too much into that when you look how tight the league is.

"They are only three points off the top six as well. It's crazy.

"We know it will be a hard game up there. They are a big team with a lot of experienced pros, so we know we need to be at our best."