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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Paul Thomson

Hamilton Accies' surprise stat that tells boss Stuart Taylor his side are "doing the right things"

Stuart Taylor insists the statistics show his side are doing the right things as Hamilton Accies look to finish their season in the Championship on a high.

Having dropped down from the Premiership last term, Taylor came in to steady the ship in August after Brian Rice's resignation as head coach.

It's been a bit of a bumpy road as the club suffered a shock Scottish Cup third round exit to West of Scotland League side Auchinlech Talbot in November and flirted with the relegation play-offs.

But a run of just five defeats in their last 19 games has ensured safety for another crack at promotion back to the top flight next season.

A final home clash with Raith Rovers this afternoon and a trip to Inverness next Friday night bring the curtain down on the campaign.

But Taylor is content with the strides they have made since the turn of the year, even if they have missed out on the promotion play-offs, and says the figures stack up.

Reflecting on the season so far, he said: "The stats show we are working hard and the lads are doing the right things.

"We just need to make sure that we are ruthless in both boxes going forward.

Accies have created plenty of chances this term (SNS Group)

"We still want to be better at what we are doing.

"We've done loads of stats and there's one where in terms of expected goals, we'd nearly be top of the league.

"Our analysts gave us a stat that out with Kilmarnock we've created the most chances in the league.

"I don't want that to be looked upon that we are creating chances for our forward players but we are not scoring, because many of our goals come from centre-backs at set-pieces or full-backs on the overlap, as Jamie Hamilton did down at Queen of the South [in January].

"Our goals come from midfielders as well.

"With clean sheets, it doesn't just come from the goalkeeper but also the defenders, the midfielders and the strikers.

"We are all in it together and there is no blame culture.

"When I first came in we spoke about changing the culture but we knew it wouldn't happen overnight. It would take time.

"We knew there would be bumps on the road and some we would be very angry and disappointed about - like the Talbot game.

Talbot knocked Hamilton Accies out of the Scottish Cup in November last year (SNS Group)

"That was certainly one day we were all very angry about but what it did do was it helped us in terms of camaraderie, mental strength and giving us a wee motivation.

"It showed us about sticking together and helping each other.

"Since around that time, it has probably galvanised the lads and helped them appreciate sticking together."

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