It will be a case of divided loyalties for Jack Hamilton’s mum and dad when they turn up to watch him play for Dundee against Arbroath at Dens this afternoon.
That’s because the keeper’s brother Colin is one of the first names on the Red Lichties team-sheet.
The full-back is in his second spell with the Angus club and is a key defender for Dick Campbell’s side.
Jack admits his older sibling has been a big help to him throughout his career but all thoughts of brotherly love will be put to one side for 90 minutes today.
Hamilton Junior said: “I think my mum, Helen, and dad, Calum, will just be sitting on the fence.
“It will be good for them to come and watch a game involving the pair of us.
“I’ve played against Colin once before. I was at Forfar and he was at Arbroath.
“It was actually a draw that day. Mum and Dad were happy but I’ll be looking to get one over him this time.”
Hamilton added: “Colin’s been brilliant for me throughout my career.
“When we were growing up, we went to Hearts together, coming through the youth ranks.
“Then we moved on as first-year professionals.
“He went to Arbroath and then started his own business.
“He’s somebody to bounce things off. He’s been around longer as he’s older so he’s done a lot and experienced a lot in his own career.
“He’s been excellent for bouncing things off, and can give me bits of advice when needed.
“There’s not really been any banter this week. At the end of the day, it’s a job and I’m at Dundee while he’s also desperate for three points with Arbroath.
“When we were young, we used to go across to the park and he would chuck me in goal – because I was the youngest!
“That was just the way it was but it was all good fun.”
Dundee boss James McPake overhauled his squad during the summer and while there have been promising signs so far, the new-look Dark Blues currently sit nine points behind league leaders Dundee United.
Hamilton insisted though that progress has been made and there are positives to work on.
The former Hearts keeper said: “We’re only seven games into the new league season.
“I suppose we should have gelled but I think anyone who has watched us often enough would agree that we have a right good squad.
“Queen of the South last Friday night was another game where we went away feeling we should have taken more from.
“But there were still a lot of positives. It’s something we want to build on.
“We’re a brand-new squad and each game we’re learning new things which bodes well for moving forward.”
Dundee have found it hard going at Dens in the league so far this season with teams making it incredibly tough for McPake’s men.
And Hamilton is expecting more of the same from his brother’s team today.
He said: “The boys have done well at Dens. The games have been difficult but we need to go and break teams down.
“We need to be on the top of our game because teams come here looking to beat Dundee.
“We’re a big scalp after all. Teams are desperate to take points off us as we’re a massive club.
“I think the league in general is very tight.
“So we just need to concentrate on ourselves and hopefully get the right results.”
Hamilton added: “It’s now another opportunity for the boys to go out and get some points on the board.
“It’s something we’ve been working hard on all week, so we’re all looking forward to it.
“Arbroath are a right good team. We’ll give them the respect they deserve.
“We know what we need to do.”
