It’s a rare thing in this day and age for a manager to be given time to turn things around after a poor run of form.

It’s all the more unusual if that sequence includes a 4-1 defeat to League Two opposition and an 8-1 defeat, albeit to the Premiership champions.

For Hamilton manager Martin Canning though, the statement of support from chairman Les Gray issued on Wednesday night gives him a bit of breathing space.

If it has released the pressure that has been mounting on his shoulders, the only people more relieved than Canning himself will be his family.

Tasting life at the sharp end of the managerial game for the first time, he concedes that recent results have taken their toll on more than just the relatively unimportant league position of his side.

He said: “I didn’t sleep at all [after the Celtic game]. I had actually lost my watch for a few weeks there and couldn’t find it anywhere, and at 12 o’clock on Tuesday night I heard it beeping. Normally by that time I’m sound asleep.

“It turns out my wife had hidden it under the bed because it always goes off at that time and keeps her awake, so at least by not sleeping I managed to find my watch!

“It can be very unfair on my family. Funnily enough it was my kids’ birthday on Wednesday and it’s my wife’s birthday today, so it’s been a busy week.

“My twin boys Zach and Finn ran into my room yesterday shouting ‘Daddy, we’re four!’, but I just pulled my covers over my head saying ‘I don’t care if you’re four, leave me alone!’

“It really affects your life and it hurts so, so much when you get a bad result, because you put so much into it.

“The whole club hurts. We hurt, the fans hurt, I’m sure the board hurts – everybody hurts.

“It’s difficult when your kids come in the next morning happy to be four and you’re telling them to go away and give you peace.

“That’s the job you choose though. It hurts a lot when you’re not winning and we need to make sure we get back to winning ways on Sunday.”

If Hamilton are to pull off a result against Hearts, who they defeated at New Douglas Park back in September, Canning says they will have to match the physicality of Robbie Neilson’s men.

The fact they had no bookings in such a crushing defeat during the week irked the manager, and without asking his men to resort to the dark arts, he says they must impose themselves more on the opposition.

“That’s something I mentioned after the game and I certainly wasn’t happy about,” he said.

“Not that I want anyone getting kicked, but to lose 8-1 and have no one booked tells a story.

“They’re an honest bunch, but there’s honesty and then there’s desire, and you have to marry the two of them up.

“If it wasn’t for the GPS we would be telling them they hadn’t worked hard enough or that they’d let themselves down.

“When you watch it though the one disappointing thing is that they didn’t get close enough.

“It’s easy to run about chasing shadows, but for me you’ve got to go and put your foot in, get tight and have an impact on the guy you’re playing against.

“I thought we were passive in that respect. I’ve spoken to them about that and it’s something that certainly won’t happen on Sunday.”