Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘I know he’ll be proud’: Emotional Chris Hamilton opens up on Dunfermline family ties

Boyhood Pars fan: Hamilton
Boyhood Pars fan: Hamilton

Chris Hamilton has poignantly declared that his late grandfather would be beaming with pride following his switch to Dunfermline Athletic.

Hamilton, a boyhood Pars supporter, penned a long-term deal with the Fife outfit after being released by Hearts last month.

The switch followed a super campaign on loan with Championship shock troops Arbroath.

The announcement of Hamilton’s arrival prompted the club to post a slew of old pictures of the youngster sporting Dunfermline colours on Twitter.

And the 20-year-old revealed that it was his grandfather, Jim, who first ignited his passion for the Pars — even if the results weren’t always the best.

“It will be special for my family to come and watch me at East End Park, having been watching Dunfermline for so many years,” said Hamilton.

“From the time I first knew what football was, I was coming to games at East End Park with my grandpa.

“You sit there at that age and never really think, ‘I’ll play out there one day’. But, as you get older, that becomes the dream.

“Those are the first memories I have with my grandpa, who isn’t here any more.

“Things like that make it special. I know he’ll be proud. No matter what I go onto do in my career, I’ll be massively proud to say, ‘I’ve played for Dunfermline’.”

He added: “My first memories aren’t the best for Dunfermline fans! The one that stands out is the 8-1 defeat against Celtic [February 2006].

“I didn’t really know what was going on — but my grandpa was getting more and more wound up and we ended up leaving early.

“I was at the [2007 Scottish Cup] final against Celtic, which didn’t end well either [1-0 defeat].

Hamilton shares a joke with Matty Todd, left, and Craig Wighton, right

“There have been more recent games that I’ve been to with my brother; the Friday night games when I’ve been able.

“Arbroath was great and it was a pleasure to play for Hearts, but when it’s your team; the team you supported and grew up with; that your family all supported — nothing compares to that.”

‘Time for something else’

And Hamilton is circumspect regarding his Hearts exit, having been at Tynecastle for 13 years, making one senior appearance.

“I spoke to Robbie [Neilson] last summer so I had an idea I would be moving on,” added Hamilton. “But I still had a year left on my contract.

“I wanted to see that out, while going out on loan and trying to get experience at a high level. Thankfully, Arbroath gave me that opportunity.

“I needed to move on. I was training with the younger boys and I needed a fresh start. Obviously, there was some sadness — I’ve been at Hearts for pretty much my whole footballing career — but I knew it was time for something else.”

Conversation