Ex-Hamilton ace says there was no fall-out, but he needed a new start

Lewis Smith insists there has been no fall-out with Hamilton Accies – he simply needed a new challenge after 15 years at the club.

The 24-year-old signed a two-year deal at Livingston, which automatically becomes three should they gain promotion back to the Premiership, ending ties with a club he has been at since nine years old.

Local lad Smith admits the first half of last season didn’t go as he wanted, with limited game-time, but was delighted to end on a high as his goals helped Hamilton regain Championship status, via a play-off win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

And he says the move probably suits all parties at this point.

“It’s a new challenge,” Smith told Lanarkshire Live Sport. “It was really difficult to leave, and it was a decision I took a lot of time over, because it was tough for me and my family, but I think it probably came at the right time.

“Over the years I’ve had a couple of chances to leave, and I always wanted to stay, but now it’s time to move on, try something different, and Livingston offered a chance to try and make that challenge work.

“In every walk of life you can’t stay in the same place forever. I had been at Hamilton since I was nine years old, and I loved the club, loved everybody at the club, but for my own personal development, I needed to try something different.

“I signed professional forms at Hamilton when I was at school, at 16, so I’ve been around Hamilton for more than half my life.

“I feel like I know everyone in and around the stadium, which is nice, but I think there’s an aspect that I need to move on at some point, and this is probably the right time for me.

“I’ve never really joined a new team or anything, so I’ve never had the situation of going into a new changing