Accies poised to give their midfield a Young look

Jul 5 2007

DEREK Young is training with Hamilton Accies, with a view to signing for the New Douglas Park club.

The midfield ace trained with Hamilton last summer before leaving for a trial at Blackpool, and ended up signing for Partick Thistle, via St Johnstone, but boss Billy Reid hopes this time to sign the 27-year-old.

It’s hoped that Young, who starred in the SPL with Aberdeen and Dunfermline, will add some experience to Reid’s side.

The gaffer said: “Derek Young is in training with us now for a week, and did his first day on Monday, so we’re looking at him to see where we are.

“We’re not bringing him in here just for the sake of it... we are looking at him.

“He trained with us last season, then went down to Blackpool for a trial and the rest is history.

“He played 30-odd games last season, has good experience, and as I’ve said before we’re looking to bring one or two into the squad, so we’ll assess that over the next seven days.”

Reid confirmed that the club has knocked back a bid from St Johnstone for highly-rated striker Richard Offiong, and he’s glad to have that kind of backing from chairman Ronnie MacDonald.

He said: “We’re not in a hurry to lose any of our good players, and I think the chairman has sent that message out by rejecting bids for James McCarthy and Richard Offiong.

“There is no point in us trying to build something at this club, and finding players like Richard Offiong and James McCarthy, if we’re just going to sell them on.

“It’s pleasing to get that kind of backing from the chairman, but that’s why I came to the club.

“There were some raised eyebrows when I left Clyde to come here, because I went from a club that was used to being up at the top end of the division to Hamilton Accies, who had just avoided relegation the season before.

“But I came to the club because I knew the structure and how Ronnie was looking into the future. That has proven to be the right decision.”

Reid hopes that Young won’t be the last new face at Accies, but says he won’t be hurried into making rash decisions.

He said: “We’re looking to maybe strengthen the squad in one or two areas, but we’re not in a rush to do that because we have a decent squad here.

“There are players available, but I don’t want to dive in — they have to be people that are going to make a difference.

“I think we still need a wee bit more experience in the team for the rigours of the season ahead because it’s going to be a really hard league.

“We need to make sure we’re ready. I’m delighted with the way pre-season has gone so far, their fitness levels have been exceptional, and I’m happy that the whole squad is getting a pre-season under their belt, because we didn’t manage to do that last summer.”

Winger Kevin Davison officially signed on Tuesday, having been released by Gretna.

Hamilton have confirmed that they will play pre-season friendlies at New Douglas Park against Second Division newcomers Airdrie United and Blue Square Premier League side Halifax Town.

Airdrie visit on Thursday, July 19, at 7.45pm, while Halifax are here on Tuesday, July 24, at 2pm. These fixtures add to away friendlies at Edinburgh City on Wednesday, July 11, and Falkirk on Tuesday, July 31.

And Reid said: “The Airdrie game will be a decent one for fans. It’s a derby game and it’s always nice to play opposition from down south. We’re still looking for another couple of games, preferably away from home, but we’ll see how that materialises in the next couple of weeks.”

l Wednesday’s match against Edinburgh City at Meadowbank Stadium kicks off at 7.30pm.