Arbroath loan star Chris Hamilton will end his 12-year association with Hearts as his contract expires in the summer.
Hamilton, 20, has been with Hearts since the age of eight and turned out for the Edinburgh side once – at the age of 16 – against Kilmarnock in 2018.
But he accepts his time is up at with the Tynecastle club as he prepares to seek a new adventure.
At the moment that adventure is at high-flying Championship side Arbroath, where he has been man-of-the-match in two of the last three games.
A selection of match day images from Saturday have now been uploaded to our Facebook Page https://t.co/yKcQW778Ao and our Instagram Page https://t.co/k7lt44e9Hc pic.twitter.com/u0JNfxDgVr
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) November 8, 2021
And the images of him celebrating a last-gasp equaliser at Hamilton with his jubilant Red Lichties team-mates, sum up how he feels right now.
The love from Arbroath is helping Hamilton mend his broken Hearts.
“It will be difficult for me leaving Hearts,” said defender Hamilton. “I’ve been with the club for 12 years but it’s inevitable that I will finish my time there in the summer.
“That’s something I’ve been slowly coming to terms with. I need to be ready for what come next.
⚽️ GoalPro 🎙 pic.twitter.com/kHWalIPD5G
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) November 7, 2021
“What will that be? I don’t know right now and I’m trying not to think about it.
“I know that I have to fully focus on Arbroath and I’m loving my time there right now.
“You can see how we celebrate as a team. It all means so much to us.
“We are one big unit – the fans, players, management and the board.
“You could see that by the way the players celebrated with Bobby Linn a few weeks ago.
“Everyone was delighted to see him get a goal.
Another brilliant 3 points and what a comeback!! Bobby Linn 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/cqZozwJfML
— Chris Hamilton (@chrishamilton__) October 30, 2021
“We also had great celebrations in Inverness and Hamilton. I loved celebrating in front of my dad.
“The manager is driving the team ethos. He is big on everyone who is attached to the club feeling like they are part of the team.”
Chris Hamilton: Arbroath is a social club
The Arbroath players connection with the fans is not just evident on the park but off it too.
Every Saturday night, without fail, a large section of the Arbroath team post about their games on social media.
They see it as a duty to engage with fans, with Joel Nouble determined to respond to every single message he receives.
“I’ve had quite a few messages off fans since I joined Arbroath,” added Hamilton.
“They have been brilliant with me and they are turning out in big numbers to support us home and away.
TASC SOCIAL MEDIA MAN OF THE MATCH – RESULT
Congratulations to @chrishamilton__ on winning the TASC Social Media Man of the Match for his performance in the @ArbroathFC draw with Hamilton yesterday. This is his 2nd award in 3 games.
Picture courtesy of @Graham_Black pic.twitter.com/NUZyj9Dftw
— TASC (@TASC1878) November 7, 2021
“It doesn’t take much to engage with them on social media but I know it means a lot to them.
“We are all in this together and there will be times when we really need their backing.
“We will hit a bad spell but the closer we are as a club, the easier it will be to pull through it.
