DOUGIE IMRIE has had many names flung at him from the terraces due to his combative style and, at times, abrasive demeanour on the pitch.

One title he probably never thought he would be labelled with though is ‘elder statesman’, but that is exactly the role he finds himself playing in a shell-shocked Hamilton dressing room.

With a new-found maturity to add to the professional pride that manifests itself in his competitive streak on the field, Imrie has been a key figure in steering his young Accies teammates through their recent crisis of confidence.

He concedes that he holds some reservations over the visit of Hearts on Sunday, but hopes that a positive result could go some way to restoring the diminishing belief inside New Douglas Park.

He said: “I have spoken to some of the younger boys. But you have to, experienced players like myself, Michael McGovern, obviously the gaffer too, have to help these kids along.

“A few of them have played a lot of games, but the bottom line is that they are still young players learning their trade.

“They’ll be scarred by what happened against Celtic. Going there and being three nil down after nine minutes, it’s never easy, especially at Parkhead or any other big ground.

“It’s been tough. But it’s how we come out of it that’s important. It’s a big learning curve for a lot of us.

“I’ve been there before. Big places like Parkhead, Ibrox, getting beat by big scores. But for a lot of the younger boys it’s even harder, they’ve probably not experienced anything like it before in their lives.

“We have another big game against Hearts now though and we know we’re capable of beating them – just like we did earlier in the season.

“We will have a bit of apprehension. But then every game’s tough in this league and Sunday will be no different.

“The last time they came here they were high on confidence and we beat them. So, why can’t we do it again? The players haven’t changed, we’ve still got the same team that started the season.

“We’re giving our all, but confidence is obviously low and that, of course, is a big factor for any team. We need to start winning games to get that confidence back.

“We’re all hurting, we know how the fans are feeling. The players are hurting just as much. But we’re a small club and we need to stick together.”

Imrie is sure that if his teammates can regain the competitive edge that worked so well for them earlier in the season, then their fortunes will turn around.

“Over the last few weeks have been too soft,” he said.

“I think as a team we need to work harder for each other from the midfielders to the strikers, to help the defence and Michael in goals.

“We need to work harder to stop crosses coming in and people getting shots at goal. Because we are renowned for being a hard-working, pressing team.

“We need to get back to that.”