They need to win 9-0, they are down and out

By Tadious Manyepo

The usually cheerful David Moyo was a broken soul yesterday as he tried to come to terms with Hamilton Academical’s relegation from the Scottish Premiership.

Hamilton were all but demoted from the Scottish top-flight league, on Tuesday, following their 1-2 defeat at the hands of Ross County.

Manager Brian Rice’s side needed all the points, from this encounter, to fight another day.

But they were wasteful in front of goal in a tense fixture.

On 30 points, three behind second-from-bottom Kilmarnock, the team they face on Sunday in the final match of the season, the Accies are mathematically still floating with the big boys.

But, realistically, they are down and out.

They need to beat Kilmarnock by at least nine goals to secure a play-off place, a result which is difficult, if not impossible, to attain.

They have only scored 34 goals, in 37 league games, so far this season.

To expect them to score nine in just one league game is virtually impossible and the reality is that the Accies are down and out.

And Moyo acknowledged as much when he spoke to The Herald yesterday.

“It’s over, we are gone,” Moyo said.

“We should have done more, we tried but our effort wasn’t good enough to save ourselves.

‘’Sometimes, we were unlucky but, you know, that is the nature of the game.

“We are gone, we wanted to finish the season on a high but, unfortunately, here we are.”

Moyo has been an integral part of his team this season, providing some match-changing moments, including scoring and assisting, during the tough campaign.

But all that will count for nothing with the team failing to achieve their primary objective, which was to stay in the Scottish Premiership.

They are a whooping 69 points behind champions Rangers.

Moyo is already bracing for life in the Scottish Championship next season.

“Tough times never last, only tough people last,’’ he said.’’ What we need to do now is play our last match with passion, you never know what happens.

“What we need is to finish the season strongly and see what comes along.

“On paper, we are heading to the Championship and we can only start planning on how to adjust so that we can bounce back, as soon as we can, into the top-flight.”

Although there have been reports of Moyo’s possible transfer to some clubs in the Scottish top-flight league, nothing concrete has been tabled.

The dreadlocked forward said he doesn’t know what the future holds for him right now.

“I normally talk to my agent but, at the moment, we haven’t spoken,’’ he said.

“So, what we can only do is wait and see what comes and see what the future holds.

“Otherwise, realistically speaking, unless there would be miracles of tremendous proportions, we are gone and we will be playing in the Championship next season.

“That’s how it stands.

“I am devastated with this development but that is part of the game and we will see what awaits ahead.”

Hamilton might only survive automatic relegation if they can reproduce which saw them thrash Morton 10-2 in 2014.

Moyo featured for the Warriors in the first half of the 2021 AFCON qualifier against Algeria at the National Sports Stadium in November last year.

His technique and power have impressed coach, Zdravko Logarusic. The Herald