By Ben McNicol
The SWPL 1 fixtures for the 2021/22 season have been released with Hamilton kicking their season off away to Hearts of Midlothian.
Accies will then welcome Rangers and 14-in-a-row champions Glasgow City to New Douglas Park within a two-week spell.
Fixture release day always comes with plenty of anticipation as fans look forward to putting dates in the diaries after Hamilton clinched promotion back to the top-flight after a dramatic final day victory against Kilmarnock earlier in the month.
Accies will be underdogs on a weekly basis considering they’re the only side in the division without full-time players and staff.
Assistant manger Robert Watson insists Hamilton are looking to defy the odds like the men’s side did in the Scottish Premiership for a number of years.
Watson said: “It’s obviously very exciting. We are back in the top division and we can see where we are going to be.
“The players are understandably buzzing because we are playing the top teams and that’s what we wanted to do.
“It’s a difficult start away to Hearts and then we have Rangers at home for our first home game.
“Everything that’s happened at Rangers over the last year has been really exciting with the level of players that they’ve brought in - like Zoe Ness.
“We are just really looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.
“Getting promoted made the conversations with players about staying really straight forward.
Manager Gary Doctor and assistant manager Watson are already preparing their squad for the next campaign.
Lauren Grant, Dani Connolly, Nicole Cairney, Elise McCormick, Lisa Kerr, and Amy Anderson all leaving the club this summer recent weeks and Accies will be looking to add some new faces over the coming weeks to strengthen the existing squad.
Watson added: “We’ve got some really good players. Georgie McTear missed out on promotion with Glasgow Women a couple of times so it’s a big deal for her to play in the top division.
“She’s a player that should have been playing in the topflight for a long time.
“We’ve also got Hannah Coakley and Quinny, who’ve played in the top division so we are in a good place.
“Kirsty McIntosh had a short spell at Hearts but she came back and helped us win promotion.
“She’s really invested in Accies and she’s performed brilliantly for us in the last few seasons.
“Josie Giard played three seasons at Celtic and she was nominated for SWPL2 player of the season last year.
“She knows exactly what it’s about at the top level. She was one of the first players to sign on and she really likes what we are doing at the club.
“It means more than getting £30 pound a week for players at our club.
“It’s about being part of something with a common goal and that’s what we’ve got at Hamilton.
“We are the only club that doesn’t have full time players or staff in the whole division.
“We don’t just want to stay in the league but we want to make an impression on the league.
“We don’t just want to scrape to safety, we want to surprise people but we need to taper that with the resources that we’ve had.
“Hamilton has never finished higher than seventh in the topflight - even in the old twelve team division - so that’s a target.
“If we could do that then it would be an absolutely incredible season."
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
