Grant Gillespie wants Hamilton to be head and shoulders above the opposition
Hamilton midfielder Grant Gillespie is hopeful his side can end the year in style.
Accies take on Hearts on Monday night as they kick-off a busy schedule which will see them squeeze in nine games before the turn of the year.
They will close out 2016 with games against Celtic, Rangers, Celtic again and then Aberdeen but Gillespie would prefer it if Martin Canning's side had some extra points in the bank by the time they get to that testing run.
They currently sit just one point above bottom club Dundee but are only two back from Inverness and the top half of the Ladbrokes Premiership table.
"We've got a really busy period before the end of the year, so it's going to be a bit hectic," he said.
"We tried to go away over the international break and rest up both physically and mentally as much as we could.
"The manager gave us three days off because he knows it's vitally important we come back and try to put a few wins together.
"We just hope we can go on a wee run and give ourselves a cushion going into the second half of the season.
"It is still so tight that a couple of wins could put us in the top six."
Hearts youngster Liam Smith is hoping a win at the SuperSeal Stadium will keep them in the race for second.
Three games without a win has seen the Jambos drop down to fourth, five points adrift of second-placed Aberdeen.
Smith said: "You know every time you go to Accies it will be difficult. The pitch is tight and an astro. They come after the ball too so you won't get a second on it.
"We know we'll have to play a bit better than we have done recently and it's important we do that.
"It's tight down their end of the table but it's also tight at our end. We are trying to catch Aberdeen so we need as many points as we can."
Source: PAR
