HAMILTON manager Martin Canning fears he may lose former Hearts and Rangers attacker David Templeton if he gets back to his best form.
Templeton is nearing full fitness and has been in fine fettle for Accies of late, scoring against Aberdeen in their last fixture as they held the second-placed side to a draw at the Superseal Stadium.
But while Canning is obviously pleased to see Templeton getting some of his old spark back, he admits it is a double-edged sword for the club, as they will struggle to hang on to a player of his calibre when he is firing on all cylinders.
“If he gets back to full fitness then it might be hard to hold on to him,” Canning said. “And if I’m being honest, he’s the type of guy that we normally wouldn’t be able to get here. If Temps had no issues over the last two years, then he wouldn’t be playing for us. I’m certain of that, he’d be at a bigger club either in Scotland or down south with the qualities that he’s got.
“That’s one thing that this club has always done, give guys like Temps a wee break when maybe no one else would give them that opportunity, and we’re reaping the rewards.
“If we can keep him fit and kick on from there, then there’s every chance we could lose him.
“Hopefully not, but that would be something myself and the owners as a club would pat him on the back for, thank him for his efforts, and I’m pretty sure he would thank us for getting his career back on track.
“If he does leave for a bigger club, he will go with our best wishes.
“I can see a difference in him. Any player when they are confident you see that difference, and he is no different.
“When you believe you can go and win games and you feel that you’re really fit and can go and compete for 70, 80 or 90 minutes, which has been his problem for the last two years, then you do get that lift.
“The boys get a lift when they are on the park with him, knowing you have a player of that quality at the top end of the pitch.”
And the opposition on Saturday may also provide added motivation for Templeton, going up against his former club Rangers with something of a point to prove.
“He’s the type of guy that will get a lift from facing Rangers,” said Canning. “He doesn’t really get fazed by much.
“He’s still not as sharp as he would like to be, albeit that he’s arguably back to the level he was when he was at Dundee United towards the end of last season.
“He was sharp in the last game of the season and had trained for maybe six or seven weeks continuously, and he had played a couple of 90 minutes as well.
“He’s getting back to that kind of level, and hopefully for us we can keep him fit. That’s the biggest thing.
“If we can continue to grow his fitness, he will just get better.”
Canning has been given a boost ahead of the trip to Ibrox with the news that his lengthy injury list has been shortened somewhat over the international break.
“Hopefully we will get Georgios Sarris back,” he said. “Shaun Want will be back as well, and Grant Gillespie played 90 minutes on Tuesday night, so that’s him back.
“With Ali Crawford we’ll see nearer the time, but it’s been good from that point of view”
“Templeton has got another couple of weeks under his belt and Gary Woods too, so it’s been a good break.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here