Players ready to sign new deals

Oct 19 2006

HAMILTON hope within the next fortnight to have tied up their top players on extended deals.

Defender Mark McLaughlin and youngster Tony Stevenson this week agreed deals to keep them at the club until 2008 and 2009, respectively. It’s expected that a deal will shortly be thrashed out to keep winger Mark Gilhaney at the club.

Advisor George Gray, of Braveheart Promotions, expects to sit down with manager Billy Reid and chairman Ronnie MacDonald within the next week or so.

Gray said: “Hamilton will have the nucleus of a good team for the next few seasons. Hopefully, we will have the players all happy going into Christmas.”

Manager Billy Reid is pleased to have made contract moves and praised the role that chairman Ronnie MacDonald has undertaken since director of football George Fairley quit the club.

Reid said: “Mark McLaughlin has signed a new two-year deal, we’re in negotiation with one or two others, and there’s good news around the corner. I hope that’s going to be the case within the next few weeks.

“Ronnie MacDonald has been fantastic and taken the whole issue with regards to contracts off of my shoulders. I’ve told him who I want to sign, and hopefully the players will realise where this club is trying to get to.

“We’ve come a long way in the last couple of years, but we will have setbacks. With the amount of injuries we’re having, there will be more kids coming in that we haven’t even seen yet.

“Young James McCarthy will feature in the near future, as will Gerry McLauchlan, David Murray and James Gibson, who is 17-years-old.”

l Young defender Ross McCabe will learn on October 31 if he can resume playing following the horror injury that nearly killed him last month.