Reghan Tumilty admits Hamilton’s win over Dunfermline last night was a ‘six-pointer’ and says they must be ruthless against teams round about them in the Championship.
Stuart McKinstry’s 63rd-minute strike moved Accies up to eighth in the table, putting Dunfermline back in the play-off slot three points below them.
And with bottom side Airdrie beating Raith Rovers, Tumilty says the win was even more important.
Tumilty, who turned 28 today, said: “That was a massive win. I know everyone says it, but it’s a six-pointer. When it’s against teams around us we need to put in a performance and get three points, and we need to do it more often.
“It was a hard-fought win, but one that we needed.
“You saw the result for Airdrie as well, and when it’s games that are against the teams around us, we’ve got to try and keep them down there and our foot to their throat.
“We need to make sure we do our job and push up the table. We need to keep looking forward and not behind us.
“On paper we have a really good team and it’s a good set of boys, so we need to rally round and believe in ourselves a bit more.
“We’ve got Stu there, scoring a goal, and that’s what he’s got to do more often.
“All of our wingers need to believe in ourselves a bit more, that we can beat the man, that we can compete with these teams, and we are a level above them.
“We need to keep putting in performances like that and we’ll be OK.”
Accies adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation against Dunfermline, and Tumilty enjoyed it, while also making his way back into the team.
He said: “We created chances. We were more fluid in that formation, and I personally enjoy it more, with Stevie coming inside. It helps with my game, it got us opportunities and that’s something that has been maybe lacking in recent weeks.
“We got opportunities, and we needed to, because to be frank it hasn’t been good enough.”
Tumilty was happy to give fans something to cheer about after a difficult last few weeks, and hopes for more when leaders Falkirk visit on Saturday.
He said: “That’s going to be a tough game, but you’d rather have that pressure than someone around us.
“We can just go for it and not hold back.
“I watched them against Morton on Friday night and they were really good. We struggled at Morton, so it’s going to take a big performance from everyone, so we need to recover well.
“We got a clean sheet there, that’s something to build on at least.
“That was another new back four, so it’s giving confidence for us and will stand us in good stead for Saturday.
“Hopefully we can get out there and give the fans something to cheer about again, because they’ve not had much.”