Oumar Diaby confident of top-flight survival with Hamilton
Striker Oumar Diaby is confident Hamilton can secure Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership survival and is keen to make an impact personally.
Diaby has made just two brief appearances since joining from Levski Sofia but is desperate to establish himself fully, starting with Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership derby with Motherwell.
He said: "The style of football is very different here to Bulgaria but I'm very happy to be here.
"Now I'm just waiting for my chance to play and show what I can do.
"I've only played a few minutes so far and that is not enough time to show the fans what I can do.
"I played for five minutes against Celtic but I wasn't surprised we got a draw even though we are 10th in the league. There are a lot of good players and we can definitely survive."
One positive already for Diaby, compared to his spells with Levski and Slovakian side Kosice, is the absence of racial abuse.
He told Press Association Sport: "Since the first day I came to Accies, the guys here have tried to help me, so I'm very happy to be here in this dressing room.
"In my old clubs back in Slovakia and Bulgaria, it wasn't like this. I would go in for training and no-one would speak to you.
"In those countries it is difficult to live. They don't see a lot of black guys.
"Bulgaria in the beginning was okay. It wasn't like Slovakia where there are a lot of racist people. I would hear monkey noises every week, even from my own fans. It was awful.
"I did a lot for Kosice. I scored in the quarter-final of the Slovakian Cup, then the semi and the final. After that we played in the qualification round for the Europa League and I scored then too.
"So I gave them a cup final and Europa League football - but later when I missed a penalty I had to delete my Facebook account because the abuse I was being sent was so awful."
Danny Redmond will also hope for a rare appearance in an injury-hit campaign after recovering from a rib issue. Player-manager Martin Canning is still out with an ankle complaint while defender Jesus Garcia Tena is suspended.
Joe Chalmers is Motherwell's only absentee and they could be unchanged from last weekend's win over Partick Thistle, though midfielder Morgaro Gomis will hope to return.
Louis Laing has re-established himself with three straight starts after a frustrating spell that left him considering quitting football.
The 22-year-old only made two starts in five months after losing his place in the team shortly before Ian Baraclough's managerial reign ended.
"There's a lot of things going through your head," the former England youth international said.
"It's the worst thing in the world as a professional when you're not playing on a Saturday, and there's times this season where I've thought 'I'm going to hang the boots up'.
"But I've come through that period hopefully, I'm feeling confident in myself. But the main thing is getting wins for Motherwell."
They have been hard to come by at New Douglas Park - Motherwell have failed to score in their last seven visits, including a Scottish Cup defeat by Albion Rovers.
But Laing said: "What's happened before has happened, we can't do anything about that.
"But what we can focus on is what's going to happen on Saturday, and we're all prepared for the challenge ahead."
Source: PAR
