Canning backs Beuzelin to step up at Hamilton

Pic: Jeff Holmes

Hamilton player/manager Martin Canning hopes Guillaume Beuzelin's enthusiasm can help overcome the latest setback to hit the early stages of his management career.

Canning, who is still waiting on his first win after 11 games in charge, saw assistant Chris Swailes leave the club this week after struggling to cope with time away from his family in north-east England.

But Canning feels former Hibernian midfielder Beuzelin can help atone for the loss by stepping up from his role as first-team coach.

"If someone is missing home, there is nothing you can do,'' Canning said.

"It's just another set of circumstances we have to deal with.

"It will just be a reshuffle at the moment. Boozy was doing all the training anyway so nothing will change in that respect and in terms of a Saturday, Boozy will step up and take a more active role.

"Boozy is excellent, he is so enthusiastic and so passionate about football so that can only rub off on the players.''

Canning's latest defeat was a 4-0 loss at Motherwell, his eighth reverse since stepping up to replace Alex Neil. But Accies remain in the top six and would go fifth if they beat St Johnstone at New Douglas Park on Saturday.

"It's a huge game,'' Canning said. "I spoke to the boys and told them, if they have any aspirations to finish in the top six, they must win. They can be under no illusions, I see it as a must-win game.''

And Hamilton might have midfielder Darren Lyon in the team despite his red card for a poor challenge on Motherwell winger Marvin Johnson in their last game. Lyon will serve his two-match ban for Hamilton's under-20s team rather than the first team.

"He missed the 20s game against Falkirk the other day and he misses the quarter-final of the Scottish Youth Cup against Celtic on Thursday night, so he will be available from suspension for Saturday, but he broke his nose in the Motherwell game so we will assess him,'' Canning said.

"We have Scott Struthers here, who knows every rule going. He looked it up and I think the rule is you spend your suspension at whatever level you have played more games at.''