A chance to put issue behind him is all that Shaun Wants
Shaun Want drew unwanted comparisons with Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal during lockdown.
Photographs emerged of the Hamilton Accies defender inhaling so-called “hippy crack”, a fate that had previously befallen his more-illustrious fellow pros.
Nitrous oxide is legitimately used for pain relief in dental procedures.
But its abuse in a social setting has been linked to numerous fatalities.
However, while Accies spoke to Want at the time and stated they did not condone his behaviour, the 23-year-old insists he has no fears the incident will affect his prospects this season.
“The club were OK about it. There are no worries about that,” said Want.
“The manager and the club have been completely fine with me.”
At the time, an Accies spokesman stated: “Shaun had been out on a nice day and visited friends.
“His friends were taking this stuff with balloons and he decided to try it.
“We do not condone his behaviour but we won’t punish a young man for a mistake.”
Want himself is looking to put the incident behind him, and is grateful for the club’s backing.
“Everybody at Hamilton knows that if you are good enough, then they will throw you in,” he said.
“Likewise, if things don’t go well, they won’t just turn their back on you and throw you away.
“They will always give you another chance.
“That is what happened with Jamie Hamilton last season. He got sent off a few times (three, with one successfully appealed), but they didn’t just throw him out.
“He kept working hard and he bounced back.
“So that is credit to the gaffer, credit to Academy head, George Cairns, and it is credit to Jamie himself as it showed the mentality he has.
“Obviously you get ups and downs, and I have had a lot in my career. Sometimes you get frustrated, but everybody at the club helps.
“So you keep working hard, and when your chance comes, you take it.
“Hopefully, that is what I did at the end of last season, so we will see if I can kick on from there.”
First up for Accies in 2020-21 is a trip to Celtic Park to meet the champions, an experience which Want admits will be much changed from last December’s visit to Glasgow’s East End.
“It is flag day, so if it wasn’t for coronavirus, you would have expected it to be a 60,000 sell-out,” he said.
“But it will be behind closed doors, which is something different, and we will just need to adapt to it until the crowds come back.
“Personally, I would prefer Celtic Park full. I would think most players would.
“Your dream is to play in front of 60,000, every week. You get more adrenaline from that.
“Everybody knows how tough a challenge it’s going to be, but those are the type of games you relish.
“We feel that last season we showed we can compete with the big teams.
“We won at Ibrox, and we were good at Celtic Park, too, where they only won the game in the last minute.
“So we know we are capable of taking something from the game.”