Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin says he has agreed deals with a number of players for next season and is working on convincing more to follow them to New Douglas Park.
The club are facing up to life in League One following their relegation to the Championship last month at the hands of Airdrie, but there is no time for Accies to feel sorry for themselves as they make a quick return for pre-season training on Wednesday.
Just a month after the heartache of going down, Rankin is assembling a new squad to lead the charge for a Championship return, and told Lanarkshire Live Sport fresh faces will be announced soon, while they also remain in talks with other players.
Rankin said: “We’ve got a good base for that first session.
“We outlined our targets before last season finished - and by that I mean the normal campaign, not the play-offs - and we’ve stuck to that.
“We knew we had to be proactive and we have been working away in the background for a number of months, so now we are at the stage where we can hopefully get them over the line.
“We are working on convincing some and we have agreed with others, so I’m looking forward to piecing the jigsaw together to get a successful team on the football pitch.
“The ones who were out of contract are moving on, although we are still speaking to some of them and we’ll see what happens with that.”
One player Accies have been linked with is Lee Kilday, who played at New Douglas Park from 2011 to 2014.
Asked about the possibility of the 31-year-old defender making a return, Rankin said: “I’m not confirming or denying that.
“We will be linked with lots of players, I’m sure.
“We want to build a team that will be more than competitive in League One, and one that can grow and develop.
“I think that is important and we need lots of good players - as Lee is - to be able to go and compete.”
Rankin and his players have been able to enjoy some time away over the summer and he admits the pain of the penalty shootout defeat in the play-offs was still stinging as he soaked up some sun in Crete with his family.
He admitted: “When I went away on holiday it was still raw those first two days, but you are away with the family and you’ve got to think about them.
“You’ve got to move on and get a positive head on.
“Last season was obviously hugely disappointing but I’m feeling really positive about the new campaign.
“We start next week and I’m ready to go again.
“We are having good conversations with various players and I’m looking forward to the coming season.”
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