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 onto 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 and 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 to get a few of those bodies back.”
“David Templeton has got another couple of weeks under his belt and Gary Woods too, so it’s been a good break.
“We can’t afford to have five or six players out, so it’s good that we’re getting them back now.
“There’s getting them back and getting them back fit, but we’re at the stage now where they’re ready to go, so that’s been a bonus.
“There’s competition at the top end of the pitch.”
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