There’s no way Darian will be leaving Accies
Boss Martin Canning reckons Darian MacKinnon’s decision to stay on at Hamilton Accies is great news for the club, and can help him one day realise his ambitions to become a full-time coach.
The 33-year-old midfielder’s contract is up in the summer. However, while his spikily-effective performances this season will ensure he has no shortage of options, he has already made up his mind to stay put.
“I’m staying anyway. I spoke to the gaffer the other day and he says it won’t be a problem,” he said.
“I normally get dealt with it at the end when they’ve sorted out the other ones first. I’m not going anywhere.
“I’ve had a chance to leave three times – the season we beat Dundee United in the play-offs I had a cast-iron offer to treble my money – and never went. So I’m not going to leave now.”
The commitment not only ensures Accies will hold on to one of their top players, but also that the club will retain MacKinnon’s services as a youth coach.
Manager canning said: “It is good news. I think we have been good for him and he is good for us. So it has worked well for both parties.
“I think his coaching will have been a factor. He has got involved in that over the last year.
“Sometimes if you see Darian on the pitch, you can get the wrong impression because he is snarly, but he is not really like that. Together with Dougie Imrie he takes the Under-17s and he is very good with the kids.
“It is a similar pathway to mine. I had a couple of seasons with the 17s, and when I stepped up to do my badges and my B-licence, the experience was a big help to me.
“You’d hear guys who had played at the top level trying to get up to take a coaching session and being quite timid.
“At the same time, you are standing there belting it out because you have been doing it for two-and-a-half years with the Under-17s. It definitely does stand you in good stead.”