Canning Bemoans Tough Fixtures

Photo by Jeff Holmes Martin Canning says his first month as Hamilton boss has been cursed by the Scottish Premiership fixture list. The Accies defender replaced Alex Neil four weeks ago when his best friend was lured south to take over at SkyBet Championship side Norwich. But while the New Douglas Park side were flying high under Neil, their fortunes have slumped since Canning has taken over with four defeats followed by a couple of frustrating draws. Now having taken on Dundee United, Celtic and Inverness during that miserable run, the new player/boss will complete the top-four set when his side host second-placed Aberdeen on Sunday. A trip to league leaders Celtic also awaits Canning next week and the 33-year-old admits his first few weeks in the job have been a baptism of fire. He said: "Since I've taken over we have had a hard run. We've got Aberdeen on Saturday and then Celtic for the second time in a few weeks. We've also had Dundee United and Inverness, so I've already faced the top four teams. "I've spoken to Alex about it and we both agree I probably couldn't have had a harder run of games to come into. "That's been difficult. But that's football - you can't pick and choose your fixtures. "With a little bit of luck we could have won our last two games against Dundee and Kilmarnock. Things would have been totally difficult if we had done that." Accies have scored just three goals since Canning took over - and two of them came in the 3-2 defeat against United in his first match in the dug-out. He even scored the other a fortnight ago at Dens Park as his side picked up its first point under his command. But the club's hopes of clinching a top-six slot for the first time are in danger of falling apart. They lead St Johnstone in sixth by seven points, but the Perth club have two games in hand, while Dundee are a point further back after playing one game less than Accies. But former Gretna centre-half Canning is not worried his leadership style is behind their six-game winless streak. "This run is obviously something we want to sort sooner rather than later," he said. "But performance-wise, a lot of what we are doing is right. It is literally just about putting the ball in the net. That's all that is missing. "Through the course of a season you will go through wee spells when you have purple patches and score lots of goals and then you will have times when it's the exact opposite. That's what we have got right now. "It just so happens that it has coincided with a change in manager. "But there's not a lot to worry about because when we analyse the games, we are still creating opportunities. If we weren't then I'd be worried."