Hamilton Accies captain Alex Neil was a background spectator this week as the Lanarkshire club claimed a clean sweep in the SPL awards for January.

There has, however, been nothing quiet about the midfielder's performances this season as he has shouted and cajoled the best out of the young squad round about him.

At just 27, Neil is regarded as one of the old heads in the dressing room and he was delighted to see his boss recognised by the voting panel.

Accies have conceded just one goal since the turn of the year, are unbeaten, and have all but hauled themselves out of the relegation zone, and Neil believes the recent success is all down to Reid.

"It has been great over the past few weeks but, to be honest, we felt as though we were playing well enough in the opening half of the season, but lost games we should have taken something from," he said.

"We always thought it was going to turn around.

"The gaffer has worked hard for this. We knew when we came up here that we had no Premier League experience at all, but he made sure we believed we could survive.

"It works well here because we have good kids coming through, but we also have a few more experienced heads.

"I have played under a good few managers and he is the best I've ever worked under. That's why I extended my time here because I have a lot of faith in him and he is brilliant to work with.

"His man-management is excellent. If you're a manager, I think the best thing you can have is all the players onside and fighting for you in every game.

"He's got that and although he is also a coach on the training ground, I think he knows how to get the best out of players. Everybody puts themselves on the line for him because they want to succeed.

"Most of the team have been together for three or four years. He has kept a core and brought in a few more every other season and it has worked really well."

Neil also believes that if the likes of James McCarthy - young player of the month - and James McArthur were emerging through the ranks at other clubs they might not have had the same first-team experience they have enjoyed at Accies.

"It shows a lot of confidence and it takes a bit of bottle to throw young players in when you are under pressure to get results," said Neil.

"It's what players react to, though. You know that you have a manager who has faith in you when he puts you out there at a young age and I think confidence is generated from that.

"The gaffer always had a lot of confidence in young James McCarthy, but he has also protected him from too much pressure. We all know how good it is but, equally, we have all kept his feet on the ground in the dressing room.

"If he believed all the hype he would have problems because that's when you get players who think they've nothing else to learn.

"The gaffer has looked after him here and he is making a difference for us every week.

"I try to tell them what to do on the park, but they speak for themselves and they all know what to do."

Tomas Cerny took the player of the month award and, like Reid, Neil believes the Czech stopper has worked hard for the recognition.

"He is probably the most determined player I have ever known," he said. He works hard and deserves the success he is getting because he is always trying to improve."

Accies, meanwhile, will come up against Motherwell tomorrow in what is something of a grudge fixture and their ability to keep this run going will be tested to the full.

"Our aim isn't to be above the bottom team," said Neil. "We want to keep winning and trying to play as well as we can. We are only a couple of points off sixth place at the minute, and the way we always think is if they can do it why can't we?

"There will be a bit of spice added to tomorrow 's game and we're really looking forward to it."