GARY SIGNS FOR BLUES

The boyhood Lurgan Blues fan has signed for the club on a season long loan deal on a transfer deadline day that also saw Barry Johnston join Cliftonville for 500.

Hamilton had long been linked with a move to the club but rarely had those rumours held any substance. This summer however, after a fallout with Glentoran boss Scott Young, those whispers got louder and louder and just hours before the summer transfer window slammed shut, the striker made the switch to Mourneview Park.

Glenavon boss Marty Quinn is understandably delighted to have the former Northern Ireland international on board and is excited at the assets he can add to the team.

“Gary’s a natural goalscorer and a good all round player,” he said.

“He’ll bring so much to the team, not just as a goalscorer but as an all-round player. He’s mad keen to get away from Glentoran and to be given the right to play football again. We certainly extend that to him.

“He wants to play for the club as well. It’s a boyhood ambition of his to play for Glenavon and it’s going to happen now.”

The 29 year-old forward is currently injured for between six and eight weeks but when will fans get their first glimpse of him in a Glenavon shirt?

“As soon as he’s fit; we didn’t bring him along to sit on the bench or to play reserve team football,” said Quinn plainly.

The deal was able to go ahead after long negotiations between Glenavon and Hamilton’s club Glentoran and, as the player told the BBC, only part of his wages will be paid by the Lurgan club during his loan.

“The specialist has diagnosed me as being out for eight weeks and obviously it wasn’t in Glenavon’s best interest to do a deal when I’m out for so long but Glentoran have helped me because they’ve done a deal with Glenavon, who don’t have to start paying me until November 1st,” said Hamilton.

“The most important thing to me was to get out and try and play football. I’ve only signed on a one-year loan deal and my aim is to score as many goals to help Glenavon as possible and who knows what will happen at the end of the season.

“I’m a full-time footballer and I’ve got a young family with another baby on the way. At the end of the day, I have to look after myself and my family so I’ve got another two seasons at Glentoran and unless everything is financially right for me and my family I’ll see that out. If not I’ll go on loan again and see what happens again but that all lies ahead.

“As far as I’m concerned, with the wage cap coming in next season it will be hard for clubs to sign me on a permanent deal so it may come down to a loan deal again.”