Hamilton Accies could be on a collision course with old boss in survival fight

Hamilton Accies could be on a collision course with former boss Brian Rice, should their fight for Championship survival land them in the play-offs.

Defeats last week against Morton and Queen's Park have left John Rankin's side ninth, two points above Cove Rangers and four adrift of eighth-placed Arbroath, as they head in to two crucial clashes at home to Inverness on Tuesday and Partick Thistle on Saturday.

Alloa are currently fourth in League One, two points behind Airdrie (qosfc.com)

However, should they fail to climb above Arbroath, their only hope of staying up is going to be through the play-off system, which currently has them set to clash with Rice's Alloa Athletic.

As things stand, they're heading for a semi-final first leg clash against fourth-placed League One side Alloa at the Indodrill Stadium on Tuesday or Wednesday, May 9 or 10, while third-placed Airdrie host runners-up Falkirk.

Those games would then be flipped round to Hamilton v Alloa and Falkirk v Airdrie on Saturday, May 13, with the final taking place over two legs on Wednesday, May 17 and Saturday, May 20. The lowest-ranked team will be at home in the first leg.

Accies go into a huge week for them on the back of two defeats against Morton on Tuesday and Queen's Park on Friday (SNS Group)

It's likely to be a nail-biting few weeks for Accies fans, with a gap between Saturday's clash at home to Thistle and the last-day visit to rivals Arbroath on Friday, May 5.

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.