Swailes aims to clinch new deal elsewhere

Mar 26 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

CHRIS SWAILES admitted his disappointment that his affair with Hamilton Accies will end in the summer – but hopes to do enough to earn a 12-month contract elsewhere.

Swailes has been a rock in Hamilton’s defence during their stunning SPL debut season but turns 39 in October.

However, he hopes to be playing at a reasonable level beyond his 40th birthday.

He said: “I will not be at Hamilton next season. It’s as simple as that and I’ve been told that already.

“I hope to get another deal somewhere else. I have enough to play for another year and I would have liked to have stayed where I am but so be it.”

His departure at the end of the season doesn’t alter Swailes’s commitment to the cause, however, and he was pleased to take a point in Saturday’s draw against St Mirren.

He said: “As it happens, the results have seemed to be OK. We remain where we are, eighth in the SPL table.

“It’s one more game played, there are four teams behind us, and there are only a few games to go so I’m well chuffed.”

Tomas Cerny’s 83rd-minute dismissal for a trip on striker Craig Dargo could have been a turning point but the team saw out the remainder of the game and Swailes says the lads have every faith in understudy Sean Murdoch.

He said: “Tomas was sent off with seven or eight minutes to go and we would have been disappointed to have conceded a goal before the end but Sean Murdoch is a great keeper. The lads who train here see him all the time and he could be our number one.

“He’s an able deputy to Tomas and he’s chosen to be here as our number two but he could easily get a game at another club.”

While his team-mates jetted out in Sunday for a mid-season break in Marbella, Swailes stayed behind to tackle a coaching course with the Welsh FA.

He joked: “It’s a shame that these things seem to come up when I’ve got a chance to get some sun!

“However, the ‘A’ licence will give me an opportunity to stay in the game as a coach.”