HAMILTON may have the Premiership's smallest fan-base but that hardy band certainly made themselves heard on Christmas Eve - and they were far from full of Festive spirit.

The Accies are on a poor run and both players and manager Martin Canning were left in no doubt about what some, not all, thought about how things are going.

Surely nobody could ever accuse Dougie Imrie of not trying and, while he understands the frustration, he doesn't find it helpful.

Imrie said: "The fans can say what they want.

“It’s hard enough on the pitch without the fans giving us a bit, but they pay their money and are entitled to have a go.

“We have had two wins and 10 draws and we know ourselves that we need to start picking up points.

“It’s difficult for everyone. We are hurting but so are the fans.

“We have another two tough games coming up but they are all difficult in this league. Everyone can beat each other."

Hamilton has won just twice in their last 15 games. They didn't come close to victory against Celtic.

The champions played most of the second-half with ten men and yet Craig Gordon had only one real save to make.

Imrie admitted: "It was poor from us. The first goal was a mistake. Georgios (Sarris) has got to do better. The second we couldn’t do anything about it. It was a wonder strike from Stuart Armstrong.

“At the third, we had James Forrest in a corner and he managed to get a pull back for Dembele.We have to defend better.

“From our point of view, I don’t think we did enough in the game.

“Celtic deserved their win and we have to move on.

“There is disappointment in that they went down to ten men and we lost a goal not long after that.

“That didn’t give us a chance to get a foothold in the game and put us under a bit of pressure.

“They killed the game and then they moved the ball about really well. It’s hard for us at that stage to get it back and penetrate.

“Up until the first goal, we did okay. We were in the game and we had a couple of half-chances. If we’d picked a better pass, it would have maybe been different.

“After that, we were disappointing but we have to pick ourselves up and go again."

Hamilton go to Aberdeen in midweek and then face Motherwell in one of the most important Lanarkshire derbies in many a year.

Imrie said: "It’s imperative to get a win before the break. We need to get a win or a couple of points at least.

“Aberdeen won’t be easy. They had a good win against Motherwell and it will tough.

“The derby will be difficult too so we have two massive games and we need to pick up points."

Ain't that the truth.