Hamilton Accies' groundshare with Clyde will provide financial boost ahead of toughest year in decades, says chief executive

Hamilton Accies chief executive Colin McGowan says a groundshare with Clyde next season was a “no-brainer” and will provide a “magnificent financial boost” to the club ahead of their toughest year in decades.

Last week it was announced Accies would welcome the League One club to New Douglas Park from the start of next season in July, following Clyde’s acrimonious exit from Broadwood Stadium.

The Bully Wee had spent the last 28 years in Cumbernauld but the David Goodwillie saga earlier in the year prompted Broadwood’s owners, North Lanarkshire Council, to announce they would not be renewing Clyde’s lease when it expired in May 2023.

Goodwillie - who was ruled a rapist in a 2017 civil court case - was banned from Broadwood when he tried to return to Clyde on loan from Raith Rovers, a move that sparked a public outcry.

Following the furore, Clyde have now moved to terminate that lease a year early and have struck a deal with Accies to play their home matches in Hamilton from the start of next season

It is the second time the clubs have groundshared, following a partnership at the old Douglas Park between 1991-1994 when Clyde were waiting to move to Broadwood.

And McGowan, who helped broker the deal with The Bully Wee, says it will be a big benefit to Accies as they prepare for another season in the Scottish Championship after last year’s relegation from the top flight

The 67-year-old said: “It was a no-brainer for us.

”This is going to be the hardest year ever in the past two decades for Accies, coming out of a worldwide pandemic with a dwindling support and energy prices on the rise as well.

“It helps Clyde out and it helps Hamilton Accies out in a very difficult financial climate, so it ticks all the boxes.

“Clyde won’t