THERE aren’t many visiting captains who have walked out of Celtic Park over the years with a victory to accompany them only to consider the achievement simply business accomplished and a tick in the box.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, almost certainly. Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva, most likely. Ziggy Gordon and Hamilton Academical?

Yet, such was the belief which propelled the promoted club’s start to the campaign that when an Ali Crawford goal gave Hamilton their first win at Celtic Park since 1938 to move them top of the Premiership on October 5, 2014, unbridled euphoria was not the overriding emotion.

“I remember coming off after the game and not for a second thinking ‘we’ve just made history here’,” said Gordon.

“Because we were going through such a good run, it was almost like ‘that’s another box ticked’.

“We had just come up from a fantastic promotion, the first of the play-offs, and I think for a lot of the boys it was just business.

“I don’t think it’s until now when we speak about it that you realise that was actually quite an incredible day.”

Made more incredible for the then 21-year-old as Martin Canning, then captain and the man who will attempt to lead Hamilton to success against Celtic today as manager, missed out through injury and Gordon was given the armband instead.

“I was fortunate enough and honoured enough to captain Hamilton Accies for half dozen games, and that one was included in it,” the former Hamilton right-back, who is nearly at the conclusion of a short-term deal with Polish first division side Pogon Siedlce, said.

“It makes things a bit more special for me.”

The departure of Alex Neil as manager to Norwich early in the new year of 2015, as well as striker Tony Andreu for around £1million, derailed Hamilton that campaign, but they still finished a highly-respectable seventh, actually earning more points than sixth-placed Dundee due to the nature of the league split.

Having played alongside him, been coached by him and now watching on from afar, Gordon believes Canning, the man who replaced Neil, has done “a terrific job”.

“He’s a good motivator and he’s stuck to his philosophy,” commends Gordon. “I’ve got a lot of good things to say about Martin Canning and we’re still good friends.”

Not enough people in Scottish football seem to have good things to say about Hamilton, who continually prove the many naysayers wrong, but Gordon says “the chip on the shoulder” mentality is used as an advantage. Gordon texts back after the interview to say the specific phrase that was “annoying him a lot” as to how to describe he feels Hamilton are viewed in Scottish football is as an “outlier in the top division”.

“There’s something about being somewhere where you’re not necessarily wanted or supposed to be that gives you an extra boost,” he adds. “When you’re not necessarily wanted in the league, and I think it’s fair to say Hamilton aren’t the most ideal club for the Scottish Premiership to have, you try and prove everyone wrong.”

Gordon though is brutally honest when asked if Hamilton can ever overachieve to the extent they won’t be a club perennially threatened by the prospect of relegation from the Ladbrokes Premiership and move into a position to, if not challenge for the top six, be in that comfortable position in between there and constantly looking over their shoulder.

“I think Hamilton would laugh at you if you asked them the same question,” the defender, whose mum’s family come from Poland, says. “Then reiterate how hard they have to work just to stay above the line [in the league table].

“Economics will always dictate that, especially in the game now. I think Hamilton’s philosophy is play young players and when they’ve shown to be good enough, let them leave. It was the same for myself, Greg Docherty recently, Michael Devlin. It’s a great base to have.”

Following a short spell with Partick Thistle after leaving Hamilton in the summer of 2016, Gordon came within a victory of winning Poland’s top flight Ekstraklasa last season with Jagiellonia Bialystok. Departing them in January due to being out of a new manager’s plans, he is keen to return home when his stint at Pogon Siedlce ends.

“I’m hoping to come back to Scotland,” he said. “I’ve been here for almost two years once the season finishes and I feel I’ve learnt a lot and I can improve on the performances and the ability I showed when I was playing in Scotland.”

While he feels his experience in Poland has been “invaluable” to improving him as a player, there is still a lot of pride at witnessing Hamilton prospering in the Premiership.

“From the youths up to Martin Canning, it’s a good system and I’ve no doubt that Hamilton will be safe again this season. There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.

Granted the Celtic that Gordon’s Hamilton defeated that day at Parkhead was Ronny Deila’s side rather than Brendan Rodgers’, but the Norwegian, just as the Northern Irishman will this season, won the league that campaign. Yet Gordon sees enough in the current crop at the SuperSeal stadium to earn at least a point against Celtic today.

“If anyone writes Hamilton off, then they don’t know about football and the mentality that Martin Canning has driven into these players,” insists Gordon. “If they keep it tight, they can nick it.”

Canning may have missed out on Gordon and Hamilton’s special day against Celtic as a player, but it would certainly be another big tick in the box for his managerial career.