Bolgna ace Lewis Ferguson sent video message to Accies kids ahead of UEFA Youth League tie

Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson sent a video message wishing Hamilton Accies’ under-19s well in their UEFA Youth League qualifier against Molde, within 30 minutes of Academy director George Cairns asking him to.

That highlights the bond Cairns has with the former Accies youth player, who played his part in their first round of qualifiers against Basle and Midtjylland in the 2018-19 competition.

Ultimately Accies bowed out to a 5-4 aggregate scoreline, having brought it back to 4-4 despite a 4-0 deficit, but Cairns says things like that can inspire the next generation.

Ferguson, from Quarter, came up through the youth set-up at Accies before moving on to Aberdeen and Bologna in Serie A, and is part of the current Scotland squad.

That’s one of Cairns’ favourite success stories, and he hopes it shows how well Accies are doing.

He said: “These guys are inspirations. I asked Lewis the night before we played the UEFA Youth League tie here if he could send me a video message for the kids.

“I watch his journey and he has done fantastically well from where he has come from. He’s worked hard, and has done really well, he has been magnificent.

“I asked him to send me a video to wish the lads good luck, I used him as an inspiration for the kids, to show them ‘this is where you can go’.

“He’s done it, he has had appearances for Aberdeen, he’s got a couple of Scotland caps and has been involved in the last four squads, and he’s now captain of Bologna and playing in Serie A, which is fantastic.

“That video came within 30 minutes of me asking, as it always does. You always try to help the next batch of kids coming through.

“Ryan One has done fantastically well, he’s gone down to Sheffield United in a short space of time, done really