John Rankin Guides Hamilton Accies to First Silverware in 30 Years with Yesterday's SPFL Trust Trophy Win
- A 1-0 triumph over Raith Rovers sees John Rankin's Accies take the cup
John Rankin has guided Scottish Championship side Hamilton Accies to their first silverware in 30 years after yesterday’s 1-0 SPFL Trust Trophy triumph at the Falkirk Community Stadium.
Sunday’s success is a massive boost for the 39-year-old Accies Head Coach and Football Careers client as his side, who sit bottom of the cut-throat Championship, gear up for a dramatic eight-game run-in that will decide their fate in the division.
Rankin’s side’s win showed their faith and belief in their manager’s game plan as they bravely battled for the bulk of the second half with 10 men after a red card for Dan O’Reilly.
Reghan Tumilty’s goal clinched it and when he was asked how he would celebrate, John smiled:
“Listen, there are three children in my family – and if there’s another one due on Christmas Day I wouldn’t be surprised!”
Rankin was bred as a player at Manchester United and the former Hibernian, Dundee United, Ross County and Inverness Caley midfielder knows the Scottish game inside-out.
After failing to make the grade at United he came back north, dusted himself off and went on to have a superb career as a player racking up 529 league games.
He worked studiously for his fellow players as the chairman of PFA Scotland and is a hugely respected figure in the game in his homeland.
Now, after cutting his teeth as a coach in the Hearts Academy and as assistant to former Accies gaffer Stuart Taylor, Rankin is embroiled in his first full season as a Head Coach.
It has been a testing campaign but now John will bank on his side taking a huge lift from their Cup glory to bounce into a season finale that will decide their Championship fate.
They are just one point behind ninth-placed Cove Rangers with two games in hand, with the first target now to claw themselves out of the automatic relegation slot. John stressed:
“That’s the spirit and togetherness that we need, and the players can go and enjoy their night, but they will be in for training tomorrow. We’ve got a battle to win in terms of the league now and that’s the most important thing.
“These moments are big but the spirit of the team moving forward over the next month or so has to be big as well.”