Hamilton Accies boss hails Ryan Oné impact, as he talks transfers and Hearts star Connor Smith's loan deal collapsing

Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin has hailed Ryan Oné's impact off the bench in recent weeks, as he admits he's pleased to see the teenager striker avoid 'second season syndrome.'

The 17-year-old has been introduced in the second half of Accies' League One wins over Kelty Hearts and Edinburgh City in the past fortnight, neting in both games.

Oné burst onto the scene last term, notably scoring in the win over Queen of the South that sealed Hamilton's place in the SPFL Trust Trophy they went on to win in March.

His performances last season have led to plenty of transfer speculation over the summer, and the club knocked back a bid for him from English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion in June.

Despite that, Oné has got his head down and helped Accies make a 100 per cent start to the league season, sending them to the top of the table after three games.

And his gaffer has been thoroughly impressed.

Rankin said: "He has gone away and worked on his game. The first season is always difficult but I feel the second season for kids after they made their impact is sometimes more difficult.

"Sometimes they suffer from second season syndrome but Ryan has been great since he came back, he's made a real impact in the first team and you are looking at him now as a real goal threat for us.

"We know he is a 17-year-old kid so he will have inconsistencies in his game.

"He will be up and he will be down. The most important thing right now is building his confidence and you can see the impact he has made in the last two weeks, which is huge.

"We are working hard with him and he has improved a lot over the summer.

"It is about Ryan getting consistency in his game."

Asked if he felt he could hang on to him as transfer deadline day on