ALEX NEIL hasn't assembled a squad at Hamilton Academical; it's more of a youth club.
Saturday's home match against Kilmarnock witnessed the largest gathering of young go-getters since Blazing Squad recorded their last album. There is barely one among them who would get served in an off-license without a convincing fake ID.
Hamilton as a club has always prided itself in its ability to bring through its own talent. James McArthur, James McCarthy and Brian Easton are the three high-profile ones always cited as examples but in Neil's current group there is an abundance of evidence that the system still works. Once the player-manager, Jason Scotland and Dougie Imrie had all been substituted in the weekend's goalless draw, the oldest outfielder was Tony Andreu at a hardly-ancient 26 years old.
The next oldest were a quartet of 23-year-olds, while there were also three teenagers who finished the game including Darren Lyon making his league debut. Of those who featured against Kilmarnock seven came through the academy, while a further two graduates were unused substitutes. Little wonder then, that when Hamilton received a sizeable sell-on fee following McArthur's recent £7m transfer from Wigan Athletic to Crystal Palace, chairman Les Gray revealed it would be ploughed back into the youth system.
It is a scheme that is showing a return from every penny invested in it. If there is a risk in littering the first team with so many fresh faces then it is one that Neil and Gray clearly feel is worth taking. For a team newly-promoted from the SPFL Championship there was always a chance they could have faltered in the top flight but if anything they have thrived under the spotlight.
The slight sense of disappointment at having "only" drawn at the weekend was evidence of a club bulging with confidence. The result saw them knocked off their perch at the top of the Premiership but also extended their undefeated league sequence to six matches.
After just seven games any fears of instant relegation have all but evaporated but Imrie, an elder citizen at 31, warned against wanting too much, too soon. "I wouldn't get carried away and say expectations are bigger after our start to the season," he said. "We'll take it a game at a time. We know what we've got to try and achieve this season and the priority is to stay in the league.
"We've got off to a great start but we need to keep our feet on the ground. Everything is going well just now but there will be bad patches and it's how we deal with them that will determine how we do."
The impressively bushy beard grown by Imrie fits well with his role as one of the wise old heads of the dressing room. If there is an added responsibility on the few senior players to look after their more callow counterparts then it is not one he shirks from.
"We had a lot of experienced players out [injured] and finished the game with the oldest outfield player a 26-year-old," he added. "That just shows you the way the club is going. We can always rely on the kids coming on at Hamilton.
"I feel an extra responsibility and we've been told to try and help them on. It's going to be tough for them, and with the injuries we've got they'll need to stand up and be counted like everyone else.
"The gaffer, myself, Jason and Martin Canning who have been there and done it can give them a helping hand to push them on. But they're all good players which is why they are here and why they are playing."
The draw also continues Kilmarnock's solid start to the season, although it took a much brighter second-half performance to secure it. "It wasn't good enough in the first half and the manager told us that at half time, but we knew that," said midfielder Sammy Clingan.
"We came out in the second half and felt we were the team who might have gone on to win it. But Hamilton have done well so far and it's a tough place to go so it's a good point for us. It's been a decent start for us compared to last season when we didn't hit double figures until November."
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