Hamilton Accies reject bid for midfielder James McArthur

Jan 28 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON Accies have thrown out Championship side West Bromwich Albion’s cheeky bid for midfield ace James McArthur – believed to have been in the region of £350,000.

The New Douglas Park club are keen to either hold on to their prized asset or get a fair price for him, and it’s believed they’re looking for a fee closer to the £1.2million received for James McCarthy from Wigan.

A club statement issued after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Kilmarnock said the undisclosed bid from title-chasing Albion was based on an initial loan arrangement.

It continued: “West Brom have been informed of our decision and thanked for their interest.

“To date theirs is the only written offer received, but we have had verbal interest noted by two English Premier League clubs.

“As we have previously stated, we will not stand in the way of any player moving to a higher level.

“James has been a tremendous asset to our club and when he eventually leaves to further his career, it will be with our best wishes.”

McArthur (pictured right) couldn’t inspire his team to a win in Tuesday’s tedious draw against Kilmarnock, but the news of West Brom’s rejected bid lifted the gloom after such a dull match.

Head coach Stuart Taylor said: “It’s fantastic that James is still here. He’s a massive player for us and I’m sure everyone at the club will get a lift from this.

Taylor didn’t pull any punches about the quality of the Kilmarnock, but said there were positives to take.

He said: “It wasn’t the most exciting game but, when you play six games in 16 days players, are going to be tired.

“I’d like to see any other team go through that gruelling period of games, but the boys have been fantastic.”

Accies will now turn their attention to Saturday’s New Douglas Park clash against Tony Mowbray’s Celtic.

Former Ross County and Airdrie midfielder Taylor believes Accies are improving against the Old Firm.“It’s great experience for the players, and it’s something for the fans to cherish as well,” he said.

“I hope our guys go out there and show everybody what they can do.

“We all have belief in ourselves. We went to Parkhead earlier in the season and we’re definitely getting better than we were the last time we went there, and all we can ask is that we keep progressing.

“Eventually we’ll get to a stage where we’ll run them close, like we did against Rangers three times, and you never know – we might just beat them.”

Hamilton go into Saturday’s game with fitness doubts over striker Mickael Antoine-Curier, who is struggling with a knee injury, and captain Alex Neil (hamstring).

Meanwhile, midfielder James Wesolowski is recovering well from his hamstring injury and the club hope he’ll be back for the rearranged Lanarkshire derby against Motherwell at Fir Park on February 6.