Rankinshrugs off Tait’smove totitlerivals
John Rankin admits Dylan Tait leaving Hamilton Accies was“the best thing for the group”and insists he is unperturbed by the midfielder joining title rivals Falkirk.
The Hibs loanee had his season-long deal at New Douglas Park terminated at the start of the month and the 20-year-old will now spend the second half of the season with the Bairns, who currently hold a nine point lead over Accies at the top of the table.
Tait was expected to have a big impact after signing from Easter Road in the summer but didn’t hit the heights the club would have hoped for in 25 appearances.
His last act as an Accies player was getting himself sent off in a costly 1-1 draw with Kelty Hearts in December, which Rankin branded“naive.”
And now the player will have designs on ensuring Accies, who have a game in hand over Falkirk, don’t get their hands on the League One trophy.
On Tait’s exit, Rankin said:“dylan came in and played 25 games. He did well for a period and did not so well for a period.
“But I felt his time was up and it was best for us that he moved on.
“He leaves with our best wishes.
“It didn’t work out. It wasn’t down to something happening or anything like that, I just felt it was best for the sake of the group that he moved on and we can focus on what we can achieve this season.”
Asked what the squad made of him going straight to their title rivals, Rankin added:“all I’ll say is that for our group, it was the right thing for him to move on.
“Where he has gone I don’t think will have any bearing on the group.
“It doesn’t make any difference to us and our plans. We have lost a bit of talent so now we will work to replace that. It is the right decision at the right time.”
With Tait’s wages now freed up, his departure will give Accies the opportunity to strengthen eventually, although the boss insists they are not close to signing any players at present.
He said:“we have players that we still need to move out before we can bring in, but we are still looking for players and keeping an eye out for players that can fit into what we have.
“It needs to be someone that fits into the environment here as well.
“Dylan moving on has freed up money that can help us bring someone else in but we need to make sure it is the right player we bring in.
“Dylan will not be the only player leaving in January, I’m sure there will be a few more. There’s going to be plenty of players chasing valuable game time so it is important we have realistic targets. The type of players that we do bring in will have to strengthen us.”