Hamilton captain Alex Neil is delighted his side have secured their place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for next season, even if it was dependent on rival's results. The midfielder said: "It's a great feeling to stay up - over the course of the season, we've deserved to earn our place in the league.

"For me, though, the result has put a dampener on the day because if we'd won the game we've have stayed up by doing it ourselves, whereas having Kilmarnock win their game and keep us in the league is really disappointing.

"It was bittersweet at the final whistle because we were really angry with the way we performed but Kilmarnock did us a big favour - it's always nicer to have the points on the board, which we did before the game, so the pressure was on other teams to pick up points instead.

"Even though we were beaten, though, staying in the league and knowing that we'll be in the SPL next year is fantastic and we'll look forward to next season.

"I think a lot of people tipped us to go back down because we were an unknown quantity and nobody knew what we were like, so it's nice to prove people wrong."