I have been made aware of the criticism being directed towards the manager and the board in these difficult times for the club. I should say straight away that such criticism must not be allowed to deflect us all from pursuing our objectives relentlessly.
We are currently in the midst of a complex, delicate period of transition – which includes the acquisition of the stadium.
Providing a running commentary or blow-by-blow account of our actions at this time would, in my opinion, seriously jeopardise a successful outcome. The board’s single priority is the ongoing success of the club and we are doing everything in our power towards that goal. Every decision and move we make is designed purely to take the club forward in every respect.
All we are striving for is the satisfaction of seeing this great, unique football club going forward proudly and successfully. The minute I do not believe I can contribute to that I shall step down immediately both as chairman and director.
Gerry Strain, Director of Football, will provide a detailed report on the position relating to the football side of the club and the Fans Forum which required to be postponed will be rearranged at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
Meanwhile I urge all supporters to be patient and back John Rankin, our new captain Sean McGinty, and the rest of the players to the fullest extent.
Jock Brown
Chairman
A Message To all Supporters.
Firstly, I am really sorry for the postponement of our planned Fans Forum last night, which in turn prevented me from giving you all a formal presentation on the Football Side of your Club, as well as being able to answer any questions or queries that you all have around football matters.
I am also acutely aware of your frustrations at present, particularly on top of the recent run of results not being as we wanted them to be.
I think it’s important, however, that I give you all some detail on the football side of things now that the transfer window is closed and it’s only a specific loan market available to us for the next few weeks.
Going into the January Transfer Window, our objective was to ensure that we were able to come out at the other side of the window with a stronger squad and with more playing options available to us.
Having signed five players (four) on Permanent Contracts for the Club, most of which are two-year contracts, I firmly believe that we have strengthened as a squad and have achieved on this initial objective – giving us a good core to further build on again in the summer.
Tony Gallacher, Ricki Lamie & Scott Robinson as new additions to our squad all add quality and experience at this level, whilst securing the undoubted talents of Stuart McKinstry and Connor Smith on Permanent Contacts to the club, making them our own players, can only be good for their stability, mindset, and sense of belonging to the Club as true “Accies” players.
The 2.5yr contract extension of Kyle Macdonald was also another key part of our plans for moving forward, and we were delighted to finally get this secured last week.
The loss of Scott Martin to Patrick Thistle FC was not something that was part of our January Transfer Window plan or even something that we had envisaged – until the very end of the month.
Scott’s contract was due to expire in May therefore he was available on a Pre-Contract Basis to any interested parties and I had formally been made aware of interest from two Championship clubs, one League 1 Club, as well as one Scottish Lowland League Club. Having spoken with Scott, and our Manager on Sunday evening at 7pm, the agreement was reached that Scott could leave the Club before the transfer window closed.
His transfer to Partick Thistle FC for a Non-Disclosed Fee was then completed at 4pm on Monday.
It goes without saying that Scott has been a tremendous servant to the football club, featuring in almost every match he was available for under the current management team and we all wish him well in his next chapter.
Additional to Scott leaving the Club, I have also arranged for the Strategic Loans of our younger players Ben Black, Neil Stafford, Josh Lane, Lewis Latona, Liam Morgan, Gravine Kalala, Arran Preston & Chris Neeson.
These strategic loan moves are vital for us to continue to monitor the progress and development of our next generation of talent, particularly in competitive senior football environments, as we look to integrate those who are then able to make the next transition to our first team football squad.
I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to Charlie Mulgrew who left his position as Under 18s Manager in January to join Kelty Hearts FC as their First Team Head Coach. This is a move which will benefit Hamilton Academical FC financially should Charlie move onto the next level in his Managerial Career.
Given the significant investment that we make into our Elite Youth Academy year on year, this is a key area of our focus and attention that we are not only proud of, but that we desire to take to the next level – with consistency and to enhance our Academy Reputation into a European or Global environment.
In terms of what lies ahead in February, I am still looking to secure one (possibly two) loan signings to the Club, to help our squad given the number of injuries that we have at present in key positions.
Off of the field, we will have a new Head of Medical in place next week as Caitlin Wright makes the move to St Johnstone FC where she looks to further advance her career. Again, Caitlin has made a significant and positive impact at the Club since we brought her here in July 2023 and I would like to sincerely thank her for her efforts, commitment and the standards that she has introduced to the Club behind the scenes.
I also plan to be recruiting additional staff to the Club across our Medical & Football Departments over the next few months as we look to continue our growth and develop internally, ultimately to benefit the end product on the field of play on a match day.
I can assure you that our goal, our plan and our vision is to get the Club back into the Scottish Premiership environment and we fully understand and appreciate that to achieve this, we need to evolve, and transition, in all that we do.
The support and patience our players have received from the fans this season has been noticed and appreciated.
I’d really like to thank you for this and ask that you all get behind the Club for the remaining 14 games of the season as we look to finish off strongly.
Thank you for your support,
Gerry Strain
Director of Football
