After a demoralising defeat against Partick Thistle, you could forgive Hamilton midfielder Darian MacKinnon if he went looking for a scapegoat.

Often, it is the man in black that has the finger pointed at him, particularly when the man in question is Willie Collum.

But you won’t find MacKinnon looking to mask Hamilton’s failings by blaming match officials for their shortcomings, even when the yellow card he picked up on Saturday rules him out of the Scottish Cup quarter final against Rangers.

In fact, when MacKinnon was questioned after the match at Firhill about a rant he directed at the official during the game, he launched a defence of the much-maligned whistler.

"I don't care what anybody says Willie is a good referee and he talks you through it,” MacKinnon said. “Willie gets a really hard time but he is a really good guy.

"I was going mental because I was running through and they fouled me and nobody got booked

"I can't repeat the industrial language I was using at Willie but I was fouled three or four times and I was arguing with him if that was me I would have been straight in the book.

"That's was the point I was making to Willie. He told me he had let me away with three or four especially the one I caught Ryan Edwards very high.

"I think all the referees get a hard time. You see the guests on Sportscene analysing the game and incidents and it has taken them seven replays to reach a decision.

"So how can they expect a human being to get it right in the blinking of an eye?

"Sometimes I am screaming for something and I watch it back on the analysis and I'm like 'ooft, fair play to the referee’.

"At least you can speak to Willie.”

It would not be stretching it to say that Hamilton’s performance against Thistle in such a crucial encounter was bordering on abysmal.

But MacKinnon feels that injuries to key personnel are hampering Accies’ battle against the drop.

"We are really missing Alex D'Acol,” he said.

"He can take the ball in and hold it up and link the play and that is what is missing from our play at the moment.

"We are also missing that little bit of ruthlessness in both boxes to get goals and keep them out at the other end.”

MacKinnon knows that his side will have to sharpen up quickly with a horrendous run of fixtures now ahead of them.

They travel to Celtic Park next week before hosting Aberdeen, and then face trips to Tynecastle and Ibrox in their next four league games, as well as having that quarter final away to Rangers to contend with.

"We need to start picking up points or we are bang in trouble or it will be a long season otherwise,” he said. "We need to win one of those games or more.

"We want to win them all but realistically we know if we don't start getting results and points then we are in big trouble.

"Outwith Celtic, although I am not saying you can't beat them but if they are bang it then you won't get anything from them, but the other ones are there to be got at as long as we are at the top of our game.”