ALEX NEIL insists Martin Canning should not be fully judged as Hamilton boss until next season as he backs the Accies gaffer to get it right at New Douglas Park.

Canning has yet to win since replacing Neil in the dugout when he joined Norwich in January and saw his side miss out on a top six finish after a 13 game winless run before the split.

Hamilton have now set their sights on a seventh place finish this season as they look to finish a rollercoaster campaign on a high note.

And Neil admits his friend and former team-mate faced an almost impossible job to maintain Accies' incredible start to the campaign that saw them top the Premiership standings.

Neil told SportTimes: "I think they have been unfortunate in a lot of games.

"It is difficult to see. Accies is close to my heart, I was there for a long, long time and I want them to do well.

"I feel for Martin because I know how hard he is working. Hopefully they can pick up a couple of results and get themselves fully prepared for next season, because hopefully that is when Martin will be judged rather than the tail end of this one.

"Martin took over when Hamilton were over-achieving. When you take over that kind of team, when they are playing at the peak of their powers, is extremely difficult.

"There is only one way you can go, you are not going to get better than that in terms of the results or the performances.

"Martin is being harshly judged at the moment and I hope he and the players can turn it round.

"The boys did incredibly well for me and I hope they can pick up some results between now and the end of the season and build for next year, when they will hopefully do better than they are at the moment."