Hamilton stopper Michael McGovern was today savouring his second successive shut out – just two weeks after shipping eight goals to Celtic.

The Northern Irish keeper helped battling Accies to a vital 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday, a result which prompted Gary Locke to resign from his post as manager of the Ayrshire club.

McGovern and his Hamilton team-mates have been under the cosh too this season and a Scottish Cup humbling by Annan Athletic was followed by an 8-1 hammering to Celtic in the league as the pressure on manager Martin Canning intensified.

Since that Parkhead pummelling, however, a spirited Accies have picked up a draw and a win and have kept a clean sheet in both to inch away from the relegation play-off places.

And McGovern, 31, is delighted that his team-mates have come out fighting when their backs have been against the wall

He said: “This shows the character of the team and it shows we've got fighters in the dressing room. When we face adversity, we bounce back.

“It was a huge game for us at Kilmarnock, probably the biggest game of the season. To come away from home and win it is a big boost for us. But it doesn’t mean anything unless we build on it. We've got Dundee United in two weeks and that then becomes the biggest game.”

Hamilton’s mini-resurgence has taken them to within two points of the top-six but in a tight league, McGovern knows his side can’t afford to become distracted.

He added: “It's a crazy league, the way it is. It's a cliche but we are talking it one game at a time. The gaffer said the other day, ‘we've got 14 cup finals until the end of the season’ and that's the only way we will treat it. In December we had a good run of games and we struggled, we were looking a bit too far forward and now the motto is to look at each game at a time.”

In a tense encounter in Ayrshire, Carlton Morris bundled in a 71st minute winner to give Accies just their second win in 17 games.

Killie slipped further into the mire and Locke handed in his resignation late on Saturday evening. Former Rangers star Lee McCulloch will take temporary charge – and will face his old club in his first match at the helm in the Scottish Cup this weekend.