Survival is all that matters for Hamilton skipper Dougie Imrie

HAMILTON captain Dougie Imrie insists his side are focused on survival in the Ladbrokes Premiership despite a five-game unbeaten run.

Accies were among the favourites to be relegated at the start of the season after surviving via the play-off at the end of the last campaign.

They looked to be in trouble just a month ago after suffering a run of six successive defeats, but an upturn in form has seen them in with a chance of climbing into the top six this weekend.

If Hamilton can beat Hearts at Tynecastle, and recent wins away at Rangers and Dundee suggest they could do just that, they will surpass the Jambos and could also climb above St Johnstone into sixth place.

However, Imrie has his sights firmly set on survival.

“I don’t think we can get too carried away because obviously we can see the six previous games where we lost six in a row,” he told Press Association Sport.

“We can’t get carried away and we will just take one game at a time and try to keep the run going.

“For us it’s just about maintaining our status in the league and so far this season we’ve started really well, despite the six-game run.”

Accies’ most recent point arrived against Hibernian at the SuperSeal Stadium, where they came in for criticism for their perceived style of play, which was described as “caveman” by Neil Lennon.

Imrie followed his manager in shrugging off any suggestion of foul play, but is targeting an improved display in Edinburgh this weekend against a Hearts side struggling for fluency.

The wideman said: “It’s a good place to go and play at Hearts, so hopefully we can keep the run going, but we know it’s a difficult place to go for any team.

“Hearts aren’t playing great themselves, and I’m sure the manager and their fans will be hoping for better results.

“If we can start positively and hopefully nick a goal somewhere you never know, the fans are turning on them when they get a poor result so for us it’s about keeping the momentum.”