Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin has told fans to turn New Douglas Park into a fortress, starting with Queen’s Park on Saturday.
Rankin says making life difficult for visiting teams has to be the target for a successful season.
And he’s looking forward to locking horns with experienced manager Owen Coyle in the dug-out.
Both teams are locked on six points in Group H, with a win almost certainly taking them through to the last 16 behind leaders Dundee, who are already on nine.
The Accies head coach says with a young squad, any advantage they can get will only help them.
He said: “That’s a thing I would like to have, home advantage. Sometimes you look at games and think ‘we’re playing at home and it’s maybe not so an advantage’, but if we can get the backing of the crowd with the young players that we have, it’s only going to be an advantage for us.
“We need them to back the players, because the kids are young. You see how young the squad is, and it’s important to them.
“If we can make any advantage we have of teams coming here and making it difficult for them, while giving our players an added bonus or incentive, with the backing of the crowd behind them, then it’s hugely important, going forward.”
Rankin hasn’t crossed paths with Coyle much, but says how he was as a player is likely to have transferred to management.
He said: “I was fortunate enough to share a pitch with Owen Coyle, so I know the type of character he was.
“He’d be talking to you one minute and be away chasing the next. He was trying to give you that false sense of security where you thought he was your mate, but really he was trying to get a win against you.
“Playing against experienced players like that at the beginning of my career probably taught me a lot, so he’s a great guy, and I’m looking forward to it.
“I saw Queen’s Park last season in the play-offs twice, and the semi-final at Dunfermline, and they got promoted at Airdrie.
“Owen Coyle is a great, enthusiastic coach, so you know what you’re going to get.
“They’ll be hard working, they’ll play some good football, and Owen has been successful everywhere he’s been.
“He’s obviously really experienced and has been in the game a long time in the managerial sense, and I’m just starting out, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of that at the weekend.”
Rankin was able to take in last night’s group stages game, with Dundee beating Queen’s Park 2-1, and says Accies will be wary of the Spiders’ threat.
He said: “Give them the respect they deserve, because they’ve worked hard to get up the leagues over the last few years, and we’re looking forward to Saturday.
“I know a few of their players, I know how dangerous some of them can be, so we have to try and stop that as well.
“I saw Queen’s Park last night, I was at their game. Obviously it’s difficult this season with games being played at the same time, but Tuesday was our night off from the group, so it was an opportunity for me to go and see another team.
“It was also an opportunity for me to see two teams in our league.”
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