Hamilton head coach Brian Rice has warned his players to avoid the pitfall of looking back on their high-profile clash with Celtic and fully focus on St Mirren.
Accies face a trip to Paisley on Saturday in the Ladbrokes Premiership having received plaudits but no points for their performance against Celtic.
Rice’s charges conceded after only four minutes but then kept the champions at bay for the bulk of the game and put up a spirited attempt to get back in the contest before losing 1-0.
Rice knows it is natural for his players to lift their performance levels when they face either of the top flight’s big two and there can be a lull in their next outing.
But Rice is working his players hard on the training pitch to ensure there is no drop in their performance in a crunch clash.
Rice said: “The biggest concern I have in football is when you play one of the Old Firm and you put in a decent performance and the players get a few pats on the back, is getting them back down to earth very quickly and getting their mind on the next game.
“The Celtic game, Rangers game and games on the TV, the players get a lot of attention, but for me the biggest threat is the next game.
“I’ve found that throughout my career, the next game is very important and you’ve got to get back to work quickly and get them back at it.”
