Billy Reid rang Derek McInnes last season to give him advice about getting out of the Irn-Bru First Division.

But Hamilton boss Reid will not be giving his St Johnstone counterpart any tips about staying in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League as both clubs scrap to avoid the drop.

Reid's Accies were Saints' predecessors as First Division champions and their manager decided to put in a call to McDiarmid Park last term when McInnes' men were going through a sticky patch.

"I spoke to him during last season when they were ahead by a couple of points and had a couple of bad results," said Reid.

"He was in much the same position as we had been and I did say to him, 'Just keep believing and keep doing the right things and it'll come', and I was proven right."

Hamilton welcome Saints to New Douglas Park on Saturday with both clubs separated by just a point at the foot of the table.

And despite his friendship with the visitors' management team, Reid will be going all out to ensure they go away empty handed.

"There's no doubt about that and I'd expect the same from Derek and his able deputy, Tony Docherty, who I've got a lot of time for as well," Reid said.

"They've done well and St Johnstone are a club who will feel that they should be in the SPL.

"Now they're back there and they'll want to stay there."

Like Hamilton last season, Saints have received plenty of plaudits for their performances since their return to the top flight.

But despite scoring plenty of goals, they have been unable to convert those displays into victories.

Reid said: "Without me telling Derek McInnes his job, I'm quite sure that they're working on that: how to score goals and just be that bit more solid.

"Sometimes, it takes a bit of time to adjust to the SPL. We certainly found that."

He added: "To be fair to them, I think they could have had a few more points than they've got.

"Like any new team coming up, they play with enthusiasm.

"There's some big lads in their team and they've got goals in their team, I think that's fairly obvious when you look at their scores.

"They're probably open at times and it makes for an interesting game."

Reid singled out Kenny Deuchar - who spent the last six months of last season at Hamilton - as the biggest threat to his side tomorrow.

But he believes nullifying the striker should allow the hosts to go one better than they did in their most recent home outing.

He said: "We were disappointed with our last performance at home against Falkirk; we're looking to make amends for that."