Hamilton Accies face Dundee United in the Premiership on Monday, live on BT Sport with a 7.45pm kick-off.
It was confirmed on Friday that Alex Neil had been appointed manager of Norwich City after his successful spell at New Douglas Park and Tony Stevenson, who scored Accies’ first SPL goal against Dundee United in August 2008, reckons he was always destined to be a top boss.
Stevenson, who now plays for Junior side Petershill, said: “Alex is the last playing link from that game and he was the captain of the side back then. The team had James McArthur and James McCarthy in it so there were plenty of good players around.
“In among them you could tell that Alex would go on to become a good manager. He worked hard at his football and was always determined to push himself and others.
“He was a real winner as a player, hated losing and he is just the same as a manager. It is no surprise to me that he has been a success at Hamilton and he will continue to be a success.”
As for his goal when Accies played their first game in the top flight of Scottish football for 19 years, which came in a 3-1 win over United, Stevenson said: “It is something that will stay with me throughout my career and beyond.
“It was nice to create a wee bit of history for myself and for Hamilton and ironically it was on a Monday night and live on TV, just like this game.
“Hitting home that free kick is a great memory, as was winning the game. I have got a DVD of the full match and it is one of the two main highlights from my time at Hamilton. Winning the First Division just a few months before was terrific but scoring on my SPL debut was special as well.
“Being our first season in the top flight at that time we were looking to stay up first and foremost and push on to bigger things. We did that fairly comfortably but not as comfortably as this squad will do it.
“I played in another eight to 10 games that season before dropping out of things and eventually joining Clyde and Alloa on loan. I then had three seasons with Albion Rovers and helped them win promotion and I am now at Petershill and still enjoying my football.”
The 26-year-old added: “I will watch the game on Monday and it should be a cracker as Dundee United are going very well this season and could push Celtic all the way. I still take a close interest in Hamilton and hopefully they can win this one as well.”
Craig Stewart
.png){kind=logo}
