IF Hamilton didn’t already know that they are in a relegation battle, then they certainly do now after they blew a one-goal lead to lose to Partick Thistle on Saturday.

That was the view of David Templeton after Saturday’s defeat dragged Accies right back into the mire at the bottom of the table.

It was their sixth loss in a row, leaving them just two points ahead of Saturday’s opponents, who now sit in the play-off position.

“We were in it before but we’re massively in it now,” said Templeton, who got the opener for Hamilton.

“Winning here would have put us in a really good position but losing has really dragged us into it. We need to start winning games because, if we don’t, we won’t be staying in this league.”

As well as appallingly slack marking, one of the major failings that contributed to the defeat for Hamilton was their wastefulness in front of goal.

Accies could have wrapped up the game on several occasions on the break as Thistle threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but Rakish Bingham and Marios Ogkmpoe were guilty of glaring misses.

“We had two unbelievable chances when we were 1-0 up and you’ve just got to take them if you’re going to win games like this,” said Templeton.

“Thistle were always going to come back at us if we didn’t take them and, to be fair, they played well – they put us under pressure in the second half but it’s disappointing losing this one after being in front.

“You could sense that their players and their supporters got a lift when we missed those chances. That’s what happened and then we failed to defend two cross balls and they scored from them – that’s pretty much what happened.”

To add to Hamilton’s worries, Templeton limped off during the second half of Saturday’s match at Firhill, but the attacker is confident he should be fine for the crucial run-in.

“I had a tight hamstring, which I felt in midweek,” he said. “I thought I’d be okay but, between the heat and all the running up and down I had to do, we didn’t want to take any chances – there are four crucial games coming up.

“We need to win them to stay in the division, which is what everybody at the club wants. That’s all the motivation we need. The next game, against Ross County, is now vital and, again, a win will put us in a much better place.

“However, we need to start winning points because it won’t end well for us if we don’t. When I came in last year we were in the play-offs against Dundee United but no-one likes being in that position but it’s up to us to get ourselves out of it.”