HAMILTON Accies midfielder James McCarthy wants his side to quickly forget about Saturday's result at Celtic Park.

Billy Reid's side are not as uncomfortable as some teams around them in the league, but know the six-point cushion they have can easily disintegrate.

Accies play Dundee United next weekend, and McCarthy is aware his team really must take something from every game between now and the end of the season.

"We've got a big game against Dundee United and we're looking forward to it," said the teenager.

"It's always great to play against the Old Firm, although we haven't had the best results against them, but we're looking forward to playing these last seven games, and the main thing will be to stay up this season.

"Staying in the SPL was always our aim when we came up and that is still the biggest thing."

For all that Accies have impressed in the top flight this season, they have struggled when up against the Old Firm, and McCarthy was honest enough to admit there was a significant gulf between the two teams at the weekend.

Celtic started well with an early goal, and it was always going to be an uphill struggle for Hamilton from there.

"I thought we dug deep, but when you come to a place like Celtic Park, it's not going to be easy," said McCarthy, who has been linked with a move to Celtic in the past.

"They're the SPL champions and are pushing for the league title. We battled hard and everybody worked hard, but the result was disappointing.

"Celtic have a lot of players with international experience, but I thought we did okay. We tried to shut them down in our final third, but it's always hard when you are up against great players."