Ross County 2-1 Hamilton Academical: Brian Rice 'devastated' after relegation all but confirmed

Hamilton Academical are "devastated" and "on their knees" after being all but condemned to second-tier football for the first time in seven years, says head coach Brian Rice.

Defeat at Ross County means they need to beat Kilmarnock by nine goals in Sunday's final game to survive.

Rice praised his players' courage, but it ultimately seems like it will not be enough to prevent relegation.

"Disappointed is an understatement," Rice told BBC Scotland.

"The players gave it everything and you saw a team playing exceptionally well. I told them to be brave and they were brave.

"Everyone in that dressing room is on their knees because they know what they put into the game. To not even draw is disappointing but to lose it... that's just football."

Where did it all go wrong?

Barring a memorable seventh-placed finish in 2014-15 - which saw Hamilton register an impressive 53 points - the Lanarkshire club have flirted with relegation throughout their seven-year stay.

Their fight and endeavour has become famous as they continually defied the odds to secure their top-flight status but, over the years, their points tallies have dwindled.

It looked like they would prove the doubters wrong again this term, when a 4-1 hammering of Lanarkshire rivals Motherwell lifted Rice's side off the bottom in February, but a run of one win in the following 10 games has been fatal.

Last season's points total came after 30 games while there is still one game game to play this campaign

They couldn't, could they?

Let us take you back to May 2014. Hamilton needed Dundee to drop points against Dumbarton and an eight-goal win themselves to claim the Scottish Championship on the final day.

Remarkably, Hamilton did their job, beating Morton 10-2 in a record-equalling club victory, but a narrow 2-1 win for Dundee prevented an extraordinary turnaround.

If the inevitable happens on Sunday, retaining the core of the squad will be key to the Lanarkshire side's chances of making an instant return to the top flight.

Hakeem Odoffin, who has impressed this season, signed a contract extension in March, with Rice and his current backroom staff following suit a month later.

In Rice, they have a head coach who has proven he can get the best out the young talent in his squad, such as promising centre-back Jamie Hamilton.

"We had the best player by a hundred miles in Jamie Hamilton tonight," Rice said following the defeat at County. "He's a fantastic talent, absolutely sensational he was.

"If we can keep a hold of them [young players] we can improve, but we just need to go and embrace the Championship."

'Hamilton capable of getting back up' - analysis

Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan on Sportscene

Hamilton are always full of fight and endeavour, but this year wasn't to be for them. There will be a lot of changeover but they are definitely capable of getting back up.

The Championship is a tough league. You've even seen how tough Hearts have found it in a lot of tricky games this season, and it took Hibs and Dundee United three seasons to get promoted.