Hamilton Accies boss hopes Andy Ryan's return will push other strikers as he offers squad update

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin admits he was forced to rush Andy Ryan back to action last week but hopes his return from a knee injury will bring out the best in the players around him.The striker had been sidelined for close to three months with a knee injury and was surprisingly named on the bench for Saturday's trip to Morton.But when Accies found themselves 3-0 down inside 23 minutes at Cappielow, John-Pierre Tiehi was sacrificed to make way for Ryan's return ahead of schedule.Rankin's men still went down 5-0 in Greenock but he is relieved to see his striker back and hopes with the 28-year-old - who has also been assisting the coaching team - back in contention, it will push the rest of the club's strikers amid a run of three defeats without scoring.Rankin said: "Chucky wasn't ready to play on Saturday.

He had only trained for a couple of days but it was a case of needs must at Morton."At the time in the game I wasn't happy with what was happening on the pitch and we needed somebody with a bit of leadership in that area."I thought he came on and fought his corner, worked hard and got more than double the minutes we would have anticipated."Being 3-0 down and you look and you see Chucky there and the qualities he has, it was a case that he needed to go on and help."He is a proven goalscorer at this level throughout his career and having his experience, and desire and hunger to score goals becomes important."Not only that, he knows the game and those leadership qualities."On Saturday he had a chance and it was cleared off the line, but the important thing is he is in those areas."The disappointing thing is it was another game without a goal for us, but having him around the other strikers, he is pushing people for