Reid heaps praise on Hamilton hero

03 May 2009 09:05
McCarthy, one of four nominees for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award which will be presented on Sunday, scored early in each half to give the New Douglas Park outfit their first home league win since January and move them up two places to eighth, still six points clear of rock-bottom Falkirk. Reid also reserved praise for Trent McClenahan and James McArthur, who have been playing through the pain barrier, and for the contribution of striker Richard Offiong, who made his comeback from injury. The Accies manager said: "We can all see that James McCarthy has flashes of a good player but he has no weaknesses - he's a mature young guy, deals with whatever's thrown in front of him and is exemplary off the park. "He's been running on empty in recent weeks and we tend to forget he's 18, but the breaks recently have helped him enormously and we've seen that in training. "When he's fresh, he's a fantastic football player and has everything - vision, pace, he scores goals, links the play and works backwards as well, which is really important. "Eyebrows were raised when he didn't sign for Celtic and Liverpool, but he isn't in a hurry to leave as he sees that the education he's getting at this club has served him well, and I think he's been proven right as he's matured as a young man and is enjoying his football here. "Richard Offiong coming back in was a big plus for us, and the standouts were James McArthur and Trent McClenahan; they need operations badly and are putting themselves through the mill for this football club. "That means everything to me and I can't thank them enough. "We aren't looking down, we're looking up and trying to pick up as many points as we can, and I thought we played some decent football." He added: "We started really well and scored a smashing goal. "Kilmarnock changed their formation and went with two up, so we changed and it got a bit scrappy, and we actually scored the second goal when they were in the game - but after that we were fairly comfy." Opposite number Jim Jefferies reckons his side now face a "cup final" when Falkirk visit Rugby Park next weekend, with just three points now separating the teams. Killie's goal came courtesy of Jamie Hamill's stoppage-time penalty, and the visitors lost David Lilley and Danny Invincibile to injury inside the first 15 minutes. Jefferies said: "I told the players that if they thought it was a massive game the last time we played them, they can multiply that by 100 this time. "It's all down to that: if we win it, we're six points ahead with three games to go and another two home games. "So this week we'll be concentrating on getting back in, and I can tell you now that Kevin Kyle will be the first name on the team sheet. "We didn't start as well as we had in the past couple of matches and were very hesitant in that opening spell. "Some of the players who have been doing very well recently were never at the races." He added: "Falkirk is going to be a huge game next week and it certainly won't be for the faint-hearted."

Source: Team_Talk