As a local lad, Michael Devlin suffered badly in the aftermath of Hamilton's 4-0 trouncing by Motherwell in March.

The 21-year-old defender grew up on the Fir Park side of the M8 and still has friends who follow the fortunes of the Steelmen.

Keen to atone for the thumping from their local rivals, Devlin has been geared up for the match this week.

Hamilton have not won a game since January, but he has targeted the derby as the ideal encounter in which to get that particular monkey off the backs of the Accies players. He said: "In terms of Motherwell, the last time we played them it was an embarrassing day for all of us the club.

"We will try to put that right tonight, however.

"After that defeat was when everyone had to go home and have a hard look at themselves and what they were doing.

"It was a boot up the backside that everybody needed and maybe opened up their eyes a little bit and we have tried to turn a corner.

"I grew up in Motherwell and a lot of people I know from school, and things like that, in the area, are all Motherwell fans and will all be at the game.

"So it adds a wee bit of spice to the game, to show what you can do and prove that you are a good player and you want to win for your club as well.

"It is a massive game for everyone at Hamilton and Motherwell if you add the circumstances on top of that. Hamilton haven't won in 13 games and Motherwell are fighting for their life, so it is huge."

The split has left Accies with very little to play for given that their safety in the league has been assured, courtesy of the impressive manner in which they started the campaign.

Having missed out on a place in the top six, they will find themselves up against teams fighting for their lives in the top flight for the remaining five games, and Devlin would like the season to finish as it began.

"We still have a point to prove," he insisted. "We are very disappointed that we missed out on the top six, but when you are on a run like we are on, you probably don't deserve to be in the top six.

"We are now trying to finish seventh, which is still a great achievement for our club. That will be the priority.

"We want to win five out of five. We believe we can go into every game and win it, so that will be the aim between now and end of the season."

Having beaten Motherwell earlier in the season when a run of early form was enough to catapult Accies to the top of the league table at one point, they are good enough to get one over their Lanarkshire rivals.

And it is taking that belief into the game that will be key.

"We took every game as it came and managed to get positive results at the start of the season against Motherwell," he said. "However, it was the exact opposite at Fir Park.

"We all know in there that it was a poor result for everyone associated with the club, so we will try to put that right tonight.

"Obviously we have not managed to win for so long, but performances have certainly been better, so we will try to take that into the split and make sure we get five good results."