THE snappily-dressed figure of Darian MacKinnon bounced into the press room, the immaculate suit, gleaming brogues, crisp white shirt and skinny tie struggling to contain the exuberant 27-year-old within it.
The palpable excitement coursing through the veins of the Hamilton Academical forward is perhaps understandable given he has risen through Scottish football's ranks with the feverish haste of Usain Bolt's left peg. In 2010 the Dumbarton-based forward was still plying his trade at amateur level for St Patrick's Athletic, with a move to junior club Clydebank book-ended by his 2012 switch to New Douglas Park.
Despite spending part of last term on loan at Ayr United, MacKinnon is flourishing in an Hamilton forward line that has already proven its potency in the SPFL Championship this season, their credentials clear for all to see against Queen of the South. Calum Antell's goal was under siege for large parts of Saturday afternoon, with MacKinnon's link-up play with Ali Crawford and James Keatings causing the problems, culminating in his surging run and drive from 20-yards rebounding off Mark Durnan and into the net for his first of the season on 38 minutes.
"The gaffer is on my case to get more shots on goal as I tend to pass it rather than have a go," beamed the striker, who is relishing all aspects of life as a professional footballer. "To be perfectly honest, I thought my time had passed me by. The chance to come here came right out of the blue, I was delighted the club took a chance on me.
"You don't get much time on the ball at this level, when I first came in I was taking two or three touches on the ball before getting smashed. You need to get your head up, touch, and then play. I'm 27 and probably have three or four years left in me at a good level so I'm just trying to take it all in."
The next progression in the forward's meteoric rise will come tomorrow evening when the leaders of the Championship travel to Rugby Park in the Scottish League Cup for a tie which will hold little fear for Alex Neil's undefeated team. They were largely untroubled on Saturday, albeit against a sluggish Queen of the South, but they have demonstrated a fluidity and purpose to their play that will still cause Kilmarnock problems; all three substitutes - Craig Watson Tony Andreu and eventually Andy Ryan - combining to net their second proof of their diversity.
"Rugby Park is just another great stadium to play your football at. If you can't enjoy those kind of venues you shouldn't be playing the game," insisted MacKinnon. "The gaffer told us after the game about how good a squad we have, if one person gets injured another can come in and you don't really miss them. That wouldn't have happened last season, if Stevie May [the top scorer, who has since returned to St Johnstone] got injured we would have been snookered. There is a real togetherness in the squad."
The same could not be said for Jim McIntyre's lot, with Saturday's loss only their second league defeat in 2013. While there was little cause for him to share MacKinnon's post-match enthusiasm, the Palmerston manager conceded that a freshness to his starting XI could have made difference. "I probably should have made some changes to the team," said McIntyre, who side host St Mirren tomorrow. "We didn't start well but the better team won."
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