Hamilton Accies now debt-free.

Hamilton Accies chairman Ronnie Macdonald has revealed the Scottish Premier League club is now debt-free.Macdonald said accounts show a profit for the last two years, although the club still has an outstanding mortgage on its New Douglas Park stadium.

The Lanarkshire club has also received another payment from Wigan because of midfielder James McCarthy's appearances for the Premier League club.

"Accies are free from any financial danger," he told the club website.

In July last year, Hamilton sold midfielder McCarthy to Wigan Athletic, for a fee in the region of £1.2m, in a deal which also includes enhanced payments to the Scottish club depending on appearances for his new club.

We obviously don't build it into our calculations, but you have a shortage in football every year no matter how well you budget, so James and his appearances are filling that gap

Hamilton chairmanRonnie Macdonald

"We have already had an interim payment based on appearances for James," said Macdonald.

"That's part of the contract we have with Wigan, which will hopefully give us a good cash stream going forward.

"We obviously don't build it into our calculations, but you have a shortage in football every year no matter how well you budget, so James and his appearances are filling that gap."

The club's stadium, which opened in 2001, has also generated income for the Hamilton youth system, but has almost a decade to run on its current mortgage before entering full profitability.

"The stadium company have awarded us some money into the youth system last season, but the likelihood is that it will be probably not before the term of the mortgage lapses before we get any significant sums in," said Macdonald.

"The mortgage we took to buy the stadium as opposed to the football club lapses in 11 years.

"We have invested a lot of money to get it up to spec. Obviously, if we did not have tenants, it would not be a happy situation.

"But that's gone as well as it can and it has stabilised the situation."

Macdonald also said developments were underway for a permanent youth academy, but plans have been hit by the global recession and other factors outwith the club's control.

"I doubt very much if there will be any great progress with that until we exhaust all other possibilities," said Macdonald.

"We are presently working with sportscotland in looking at the Ravenscraig development and see if we can take part in that with out academy.

"I am delighted that the club stayed in business because that was first and foremost the whole thing.

"The only thing you can do as a chairman is pass it on in a better state than you found it and there is no doubt that we have done that."

Source: BBC Sport