Allan Maitland says John Rankin’s appointment as head coach and the formation of a football board at Hamilton Accies are the first building blocks to a strong future.
Maitland says the ultimate aim for the New Douglas Park club is a return to the Premiership, but for now, they just want to be the best they can be.
And he hinted that it will take a bit of work to be strong enough to gain promotion back to the top flight.
Maitland said: “We have no divine right to be in the Premiership. None whatsoever.
“In fact, you could argue the opposite of that, that we have no right whatsoever to be in the Premiership for a club our size – but that’s our ambition, it’s where we want to be.
“But we’re only going to do that if we’re all working together, working hard, and in the same direction – and if we have the right people in place.
“That’s hopefully where we are today. You talk about building blocks, and this is maybe the start of that.
“Do we want to be in the Premiership? Yes. What’s our real ambition? To be as good as we can possibly be.”
Maitland admits Hamilton Accies didn’t do well enough last season, and lacked direction.
He said: “We needed to change things.
“Last season we didn’t have enough continuity at the football club, in terms of directors being round about the place, and I’ve introduced David MacKinnon to our board.
“He will be director of football, he will be working hand-in-hand with me and John Rankin, in working with the players and agents, etc.
“That will make a massive difference, and it is designed to make the club stronger.”
Maitland hopes the appointment of Rankin as head coach will improve the team and club as a whole, particularly with his emphasis on youth development.
“There is a lot of excitement in the appointment of John,” he said.
“I know he’s young, but he brings huge enthusiasm.
“He has worked with the academy at Hearts before, so he understands the philosophy and the mind-set of kids.
“He knows the philosophy at this football club is to try and give people a chance in our academy and try to get them into our first-team – and it needs to be.
“It’s not even a question that people will say ‘oh it’s the cheap option’ – it’s the only option for us.
“But I want to get the pride of seeing Lewis Smith, Andy Winters, or Andy Ryan doing really well for us.”
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