Hammy curse returns

THREE key Queen of the South players could be set for a spell on the sidelines after all suffering hamstring injuries last Saturday. Midfielder Jack Stott had to pull out of the starting side before the 1-1 draw with Stenhousemuir. Then Brennan Dickenson had to be subbed in the early stages with the same injury, before Mikey Hewitt became the third victim of the hammy curse. And now the trio will probably be out of Queens’ crucial league clash at Hamilton Accies this weekend. Murphy knows it’s going to be a difficult task at Broadwood and added: “Hamilton are down the other end of the table but they are in false positions in my opinion. They should be a lot higher up the league. “We’ll be playing a Hamilton side who are galvanised with everything they’ve been through this season, it’s going to be another tough game. “We have to make sure we’re fully prepared with the bodies we’ve got.” Murphy previously admitted confidence in the squad was low but he believes it has returned. And they will need to be at it and turn their form around after play-off rivals Peterhead closed the gap to two points. He said: “We gave the players last Monday off and to go out together as a group to discuss everything and anything about how we’ve gone from competing at the top end of the table to going a few games without a win and why the confidence has been impacted. “The players returned on Tuesday and we had a good discussion. It seems like it’s worked. We came out fighting in the second half. “The players managed to air a few things and so did we, as a coaching staff. “Hopefully this brings everyone together for our remaining eight plus games.”