Hamilton boss Martin Canning upbeat despite late penalty miss in goalless draw

Martin Canning had to convince a disappointed dressing room that Saturday's 0-0 draw against Dundee United was not the same as a defeat - but would have preferred three points.

Ali Crawford's penalty was saved by Dundee United goalkeeper Eji Kawashima with five minutes left and although Canning was disappointed, he would never blame a player in that situation.

He said: "The feeling that we've lost the game is one I'm trying to get out of the dressing room.

"At the end of the day we've kept a clean sheet, there hasn't been a lot in the game either way, and we've had one big chance.

"We spoke about it earlier; whether it's a set-piece, somebody going through, a penalty, or whatever it is that wins you the game, you have to take the chance, but I would never attach blame to somebody for hitting a penalty and missing - it's all part of football.

"A defender could make a mistake that costs us a goal, and unfortunately a missed penalty is the same as the goalkeeper or a defender making a mistake, but it's all part of football and it's a team game. It happens.

"It would have been nice to have won and taken the three points, but we move on. It's about making sure we win enough games between now and the end of the season, to keep ourselves in the league.

"Since day one that has been our main priority, to try and get enough points to see us safe."

Mixu Paatelainen was satisfied with a point and said it was a game his United side would have lost even a few weeks ago.

As he prepares his side for a crunch clash at home to Motherwell on Tuesday night, Paatelainen said: "I must say that a few weeks ago we would have lost that one, but we didn't, and we'll take a point and go towards Tuesday.

"I thought we were worth a point. We were pressing and trying to win the game but we were a little bit ineffective.

"We have momentum - prior to this game we had won three of our last four games and now we have a draw. We take the point which could be valuable.

"Now we look forward to Motherwell. It won't be easy. They're fighting for their lives and not picking up points at the moment so they'll be looking to change that.

"They will see the bottom of the league club as an opportunity to bounce back, so it will be an exciting match.

"We can only worry about ourselves. We drew yesterday and Kilmarnock won, so good luck to them. We can't affect how other results go, or other teams perform and play, so we have to look out for ourselves.

"We have games in hand, this is one of them, so we want to make sure we're ready."