One more win and you're champions: Hamilton's players might be forgiven for getting excited, but their manager is confident they will relish the pressure, as they have all season.

Billy Reid's side have been top of the first division since the opening day, despite being pushed all the way by Dundee. Victory today at home to Clyde will secure their place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and Reid is confident his men will not lose their focus now.

"It's not been hard at all to keep their minds on the game because that's exactly what it's all about," Reid said. "Being at the top end of the table for so long has meant there's been a lot of excitement about this club for a while now.

"My approach has always been to soak it up and I hope the players do the same. We have a chance to win the title tomorrow in front of our home fans and take the club to the SPL which is really all I could have asked for.

"I know we have good players here and we are prepared for the game but at the same time taking nothing for granted."

Reid has finished runner-up in the division twice with Clyde. The pain of missing out is shared by several of his players. "There's a couple of guys here like Bryn Halliwell and Simon Mensing that missed out with St Johnstone last season," he added, "but the important thing is, there's plenty of others who know exactly what it would mean for a club like this to win the league and go to the SPL.

"It seems to have worked out well for me here as we have managed to bring through most of our own players. And we have guys like Mark McLaughlin and Chris Swailes who have also really played their part and they still have years ahead of them as well. But the balance among the squad is good."

Leading from the front has not been an easy experience for a team few picked for the title. Reid is keen to make sure the magnitude of what they have already achieved this season is not lost on spectators.

"When we won our first five or six games we knew we were doing something right here," he said. "But you always expected the other teams to come back.

"St Johnstone and Partick Thistle dropped out and it's pretty much been left to ourselves and Dundee to get on with it. But even the other teams in the league like Partick, Saints and Queen of the South have all reached the latter stages of the cup competitions and that gives you a measure of how big an achievement this would be."

Reid hopes the lure of the top flight will help him hold on to highly rated youngsters such as James McCarthy.

"We are aware that there's some very big clubs after our players every week," he said. "But I'd like to think that if we are successful then a year in the SPL would be the next stage in their development ... and I'll be telling them that."

McCarthy in no rush to leave

James McCarthy, the teenage midfielder who has attracted the interest of some of Europe's top clubs, will decide in the summer if he will stay at Hamilton.

Chelsea will watch the £1m-rated 17-year-old against Clyde today and he has also attracted interest from Liverpool, Celtic, Rangers and Tottenham. Billy Reid, the manager, hopes he will stay to play in the top flight, assuming Hamilton win the title.

McCarthy said: "I went to Liverpool for a trial, but I wasn't ready. I'll see at the end of the season what the club and I want to do. I'm enjoying myself at Hamilton, but, if the right deal comes along, we'll need to talk about it. I'm doing really well and, hopefully, I'll keep it going. I play my own game and just get on with it."

The youngster admitted that failure to win the league would be a major upset after leading for the entire season. Victory today would end any doubts.

"It would be extremely disappointing if we don't go up," he added. "The whole dressing room really wants it. We've worked hard and stuck together and, hopefully, it will be enough."