MARTIN CANNING has spent a much of this season bemoaning his Hamilton’s side’s lack of good fortune and lady luck once again has shown herself to be no fan of the Accies.

Captain Michael Devlin is out of Thursday’s first-leg play-off match against Dundee United and Tannadice and is suspended for the return game on Sunday. His usual defensive partner Georgios Sarris is also struggling which leaves the Premiership side in a spot of bother.

Not that they weren’t already in one given where they find themselves.

Devlin is arguably Canning’s best player and while Sarris has had his struggles this season, he is an experienced player and the Hamilton manager would much rather go with his tried and tested central defensive pairing rather than a couple of kids.

The 23-year-had to come off in the first half of Saturday's 4-0 win over Dundee at the SuperSeal Stadium with a knee injury.

Canning said: "He had a scan yesterday and we will need to wait and see. Hopefully we will get something back today, if not tomorrow, and we will know exactly what's wrong.

"He will be out for Thursday, he has been hobbling about on crutches. He was out for Sunday, he was suspended and was going to miss it regardless. Hopefully we can get Georgios Sarris back for Thursday so it will be like-for-like.

“When it happened against Ross County and they were both out, we’ve got young Shaun Want and Craig Watson, who can both play centre-back and are both good young players

“Michael has been fantastic for us but it’s an opportunity for somebody else. I’ve continually said throughout the season it’s somebody else’s opportunity to come in and go and do well.”

There is an argument to be made that Dundee United are slight favourites. What can be said is there won’t be much between the teams, although with Hamilton going to be without their captain, the smart money might be on the men from the Championship.

The last team, indeed the only one, to win the play-offs from the second tier are Hamilton. Canning was in the team which beat Hibernian at Easter Road on an incredible day.

He said: "The play-offs were my finest moment as a player. It was a great day. Obviously we lost the first leg 2-0 but went to Hibs and won on penalties. So it was a fantastic achievement for the club to get up and it was a day we’ll never forget.

“Now we’ve got to go through it again. It’s slightly different in terms of we’re the team in the Premiership but we’ve got to make sure we maintain that status.

“We were the underdogs but we believed we could win. In the first game I thought we were the better team and actually played well in the game but lost two goals.

“Even though we were two down we believed in the second game if we go the first goal, as 2-0 is a funny scoreline, and got it back to 2-1 it was game on. We were able to do it and we scored the second one in the 93rd minute, so that was a bit of fortune and a bit of fate.

“But we believed and that’s the biggest thing in these games, if you believe you’re the team that’s going to come out on top then there is every chance that you will.”

This was always going to be a difficult first full season in charge for Canning. Perhaps the best anyone at the club could have hoped for is eleventh place. They at least have a chance to stay up.

Canning said: “There is so much at stake in these games it doesn’t matter the scoreline first game and second game.

“Obviously for us going up to Tannadice it will be a difficult game, we’ve got to make sure we go and compete as they are a good side, they are in good form and doing well, so we know it’s going to be a challenge.

“But it’s one after Saturday we’ll take belief and confidence in to and believe we can go and compete.”

Canning has his critics among the supporters some of whom never wanted them as manager. He’s a good guy and therefore it’s easy to root for him ahead of two matches which could well decide his long-term, future in football.

But this won’t be a play-off for the feint hearted.