Hamilton have nothing to fear from Hibs

19 May 2014 19:46

Hamilton Academical striker Tony Andreu says his side have nothing to fear from Hibernian as they prepare to face the Edinburgh giants in the Scottish Premiership play-off final.

The French forward scored the only goal of the game against Falkirk on Sunday as Hamilton secured a 2-1 aggregate win over the Bairns.

The Championship runners-up now face Terry Butcher's Hibs side over two legs for the right to play in the Premiership next season.

Despite having won just once in their past 19 matches the bookies make the beleaguered Easter Road side slight favourites to retain their top flight status.

In contrast Hamilton have lost just once in 15 and Andreu insists the pressure is all on Hibs, who are trying to avoid joining relegated rivals Hearts in the Championship.

"I don't think it was my greatest goal but it was the most important," Andreu said of his strike against Falkirk.

"We are now looking forward to Hibs and to show how good we can be.

"They are a Premiership team with good players but I still believe it is in our hands.

"If we are good then we can beat them. We have to be confident because this is the most important game of our career so far.

"We don't have to fear Hibs - we just have to play our game. The pressure is definitely all on Hibs because they didn't have a great season and now they have to prove they can stay up.

"We have nothing to lose. We have believed this season we are capable of playing in the Premiership and now this is our chance to go on and prove it."

Hibs have scored just three times in their past 10 matches - a dismal return which contributed to their slump down the table.

However, striker Paul Heffernan is adamant he can score the goals to keep Hibs in the Premiership.

The Irish forward only returned from a month out with a groin injury in the final game of the season and he hopes to can fire the Easter Road side to safety.

"The position we're currently in is far from ideal, but hopefully I can go out and score the goals to keep us up," Heffernan said.

"Whether I'm starting or coming off the bench, I always want to score and if I'm picked for the first leg then my aim will be to get on the score sheet.

"If I can score then that will get some confidence back into the team and give everybody a lift.

"I had only trained for three days in the build-up to the Kilmarnock match and, although I felt fit and injury-free, I was lacking match sharpness.

"But I'm confident that will be back up to speed after a good week of training and preparing properly for the upcoming two games."

Fixtures (1945 unless otherwise stated)

Wednesday

Hamilton v Hibernian

Source: AFP