DARIAN MACKINNON is delighted to see Alex Neil back in the heat of battle after he returned to the Hamilton starting eleven.

The Accies boss lined-up in the middle of the park and helped his side to a 2-1 triumph over Dundee at New Douglas Park.

It was Neil's first outing for the Lanarkshire side since the League Cup clash with Motherwell earlier this season.

And MacKinnon reckons his gaffer's quality shone through as Accies clinched a much-needed three points.

The midfielder was yellow-carded in the first half, and praised his gaffer's man-management skills.

He said: "When I was booked it was a quiet word, then it was a quiet word five minutes after that, just a constant reminder 'you better not get sent off today'.

"He is great. You could see the difference when he came back in. He is a warrior. He is similar to myself, he likes to get stuck in and let other boys do their work.

"It was good to have him back. We have missed him. When you are playing well, it is easy to play well. But when you need to fight, you want people like him in your corner and I thought he was excellent."

Victory over Paul Hartley's side came at just the right time for Hamilton as they brought an end to a frustrating recent run of form.

Accies wrote their name in the history books with a stunning start to the campaign that took them top of the Premiership, but they have fallen to fifth over the last few weeks.

They head to Dingwall on Saturday knowing victory could take them as high as second spot, and MacKinnon was pleased to get back on track.

He said: "We went on a great run at the start. Then, I wouldn't call it a slump, because we played some very good sides, including Aberdeen away twice.

"That is going to happen in this league. We showed last Saturday that when we need a win we can get it.

"We needed that one and we managed to do it. There is a wee gap again and we will focus on the next game."