Hamilton Academical’s Jim McAlister feels that he has made the same ‘taking a step back to take two forward’ approach that his club has. The 25-year-old is forging a new career for himself at right back for Billy Reid’s men and he is looking forward to strutting his stuff against former club Morton on Sunday at New Douglas Park in their Ramsdens Cup Quarter Final tie.
“This is the first time I have ever faced Morton in a game,” said McAlister before adding, “And I am looking forward to it. It is happening in a cup tie and that makes it even more interesting to me as it has a wee bit of an extra edge.
“I made my debut for them when I was 17 and was at Cappielow for seven and a half years, playing in nearly 300 games so it was a really good grounding for me. They moved up from the Third Division to the First Division during that time and as they grew so did I.”
McAlister joined the Lanarkshire club last summer after starring on the wing for Morton and by the time the Accies had slipped through the SPL relegation trap door, McAlister was carving out a new position for himself and Morton fans will see him in a right back berth on Sunday.
“If I am not careful, I will be in goals soon,” joked the Rothesay born McAlister before saying, “I played at right back towards the end of last season and enjoyed it and things carried on in pre-season. We play with a back four, so it is not even a wing back role but I still have the legs to get up and down the pitch. I am enjoying it and can see me playing there for a good while yet.
“It is a bit like Hamilton’s situation in that we believe that we will come back stronger after dropping back to the First Division.”
Billy Reid’s side began their first Challenge Cup competition in four years with a 2-0 win at Hampden over Queen’s Park and McAlister was not the only player playing in an unexpected position as he explained: “Dougie Imrie played left back that day and it was such a big pitch that the two of us were looking to set up attacks as much as we were defending.”
One thing that does worry McAlister about his shift down the pitch is that he has even less chance of scoring as he said: “I have never scored for Hamilton and I only scored once in my last season with Morton but that was the winner in a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle in March 2010.”
McAlister is proud of his time at Cappielow saying: “I have massive respect and a lot of time for a lot of people at Morton but it is my job now to try and get Hamilton into the Semi-Finals.
“I left there for SPL football before Allan Moore joined and he is a Manager that I would not have minded working under. You could see the progress the club was making under Allan last season and he has continued that this season.”
The former winger has one regret though from his time at the Tail o’ the Bank as he added: “As well as The Ramsdens Cup, they are an outside tip for the League and I think they will challenge and it is about time they did as they are a massive club.
“I would have loved to have had a great run in the First Division with Morton as the club and the town would have lifted off. It would be great if they could get promoted to the SPL but not this season and not at Hamilton’s expense.
“I had a great time there and I have only good things to say about my time at Morton.”
McAlister had to do a bit of travelling to start his career at Cappielow as he explained: “I am from Rothesay so I would have to travel over by ferry to play for Morton’s Under-18 team. After a couple of months of doing that, I was playing in a game against Alloa and the first team Manager, John ‘Cowboy’ McCormack, obviously liked what he had seen.
“He drove me down to Cappielow after that game and signed me. I played for the first team as a substitute for a couple of minutes the next day, so it all happened very quickly for me.”
McAlister continued: “That started off my time there in good style and that continued as the club won the Third Division. Whilst I did not play too big a part in that success, I was involved more regularly when the Second Division was won and I got a medal for that.”
Motherwell and Watford were credited with a strong interest in McAlister as Morton consolidated in the First Division however, he became the centre of national exposure when former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu looked to take him to Romania and play in the Champions League for Unirea Urziceni.
McAlister had starred in a pre-season friendly between the clubs at Cappielow and was invited to join Petrescu’s men as they continued their build up in Scotland. He played for them in their friendly against Plymouth at Balgray Playing Fields in Glasgow. As well as considering the possibility of playing in Romanian domestic football, there was also the potential that rather than First Division games in Scotland, McAlister would be involved in Champions League games against Scottish Champions Rangers as well as Germany’s Stuggart and Seville of Spain.
McAlister said: “The attention about Unirea was good at the time but looking back, it probably unsettled me as people would be coming up and asking me what was happening all the time and whether or not I was going to sign for them, etc.
“As far as I am aware, the flights were booked and it was up to me if I wanted to go but my agent did a lot of research on them and the League and advised me against it. It turned out to be the right advice as they are no longer playing at any level.”
Just over a year ago, McAlister did get a move to football at a higher level as the Accies took him to New Douglas Park and despite relegation last season, he has no regrets.
McAlister said: “I left Morton for SPL football and I am sure no-one there grudges me that. It did not work out last season but that is where taking a step back to take a step forward comes in.
“I have improved as a player during my time here as last season I was playing against better players and bigger clubs week in, week out and I have gained experience from that.”
Despite the Challenge Cup causing him regular heartache as a Greenock player as St. Mirren, Clyde, St. Johnstone and Ross County all denied him the chance of a Cup Final appearance, McAlister is a fan of the SFL’s knockout competition.
He explained: “With Morton, we made the Semi-Finals four seasons in a row but never made the Final although hopefully, I can put that right with Hamilton. Cup games are always good to play in and this one gives us the chance to make an early impact against a Morton team that will be a top side in our division.
“It will be great to see a lot of friendly faces again however, I will be playing my part in hopefully helping Hamilton progress.”
