Docherty sows seeds for next batch of stars
It was fitting Hamilton were ultimately saved by one of their own. Greg Docherty’s Play-off final winning goal will help ensure others can seamlessly follow his path from academy to first team.
By settling a tense play-off win over Dundee United, Accies’ 20-year-old gave a seven-figure boost to club finances for next season. Money that helps the Lanarkshire side deliver on its desire to continue producing home-grown players.
Indeed, Docherty revealed he had been reminded of what was at stake in a pre-match pep talk by the club’s Head of Youth, George Cairns.
‘It’s huge, financially for attracting players,’ said Docherty, asked what staying up meant to Hamilton.
‘I obviously came through the youth academy and George Cairns pulled me in and said you need to do it for the youths as we need the youth academy. I’ve been here a long time and I’m happy to give something back,’ he said.
‘If you want to be a footballer you have to deal with pressure. I’m delighted, I can’t describe my emotions.
On the agony of added time, Docherty added: ‘It was the longest three minutes of my life. But it’s over, I’ll go and enjoy my summer now.’
No other Premiership club fielded as many academy products as Accies last term.
For all, the dream is to one day attain the success reached by some famous alumni. Scotland star James McArthur was among those to tweet best wishes to his former club ahead of the decisive tie against United on Sunday.
Manager Martin Canning has to marry developing players with the need to gain results. that is not a simple task and criticism from fans flowed in his direction at regular intervals as Accies slid towards the relegation trap door.
Docherty, though, hopes coming through the process unscathed will see more unity behind the 35-year-old from here on in.
‘Going into these games there was a lot of positivity on social media, the fans were excellent,’ he said.
‘We’re a small club, we’ve got a small catchment area but we do well.
‘We’re all passionate, we always give 100 per cent every single day and we’ll continue to do that. I think that’s the Hamilton way.’
Of Canning, Docherty said: ‘I’ll be eternally grateful to the manager. He gave me my chance and I’ve racked up around 70 games under him.
‘He’s believed in me and put me in big games, big occasions and never doubted me. I’ll always be grateful to him, to the coaching staff here.
Defiantly, he added: ‘It’s massive for us to be in the Premiership again, we’ve beaten the three-year record of being in the league so that’s another boost.
‘It’s a position I didn’t want to be in — I’d rather we weren’t playing in play-off games and I’d rather not be talking to you all about it just now.
‘But it happened and we won and we build on it from here.’
Docherty’s fine strike marked the high-point of his first-team career to date. He hopes that it might also lead to a change from the rather cruel moniker currently applied by his team-mates.
‘A few of the boys in the team will probably tell you they call me “the stand-finder” with my shots,’ he smiled.
‘It’s not a nickname I like, so I’ve been itching to prove them wrong. thankfully, in the last five or six games I have been getting closer and closer and finally one dropped for me.
‘Would “play-off hero” be a better nickname? I’ll take that over stand-finder any day!
the Scotland Under-21 star added: ‘Without a doubt, this is my sweetest moment. It won’t sink in for a very long time, I still can’t believe it.
‘It’s probably been the longest week of my life, it’s been mentally tough, but it’s all been worth it in the end.
‘When my goal went it, you could see it meant so much to the fans. For the players, we didn’t know what to do. I just wanted the game to end then and there.
‘I was annoyed I had to come off later on but we’ve got a good squad here and we deserve to be in the Premiership.’