But the 27-year-old has been influential for Accies this season and appears to be growing in confidence, evidenced by his breath-taking effort in Wednesday's 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw.

Easton said: "It was frightening, unbelievable. He's got that in him. The first time we played them this season he rattled the bar with a great strike. We see it all the time in training.

"He finessed it in the top bin over big Zander. It was great.

"He is absolutely flying at the moment and I'm delighted for him because he gives so much.

"I played with him at St Johnstone but here, I think he is a bit more loved, he's getting a bit more opportunity. And he seems to be thriving on it. He is a massive player for us.

"It probably is that, feeling needed, feeling loved. It might seem a bit daft.

"When he was at St Johnstone you could tell the quality he had in training and in the games he played. But there were other players there and he was in and out.

"But here he has made himself into a vital player for us and he is just loving it. If he keeps scoring goals, we will be loving him enough."

Accies were three minutes away from moving off the bottom into 10th spot before Guy Melamed equalised with another hugely impressive goal.

But the draw and performance against the Betfred Cup winners maintained the confidence after a good recent run and once again highlighted their battling qualities.

"I love being part of teams like that," Easton said ahead of Saturday's trip to Aberdeen. "I feel it has really shone through in the last four weeks or something. We have maybe upped it a wee level.

"We have good, honest boys who always give 100 per cent but the last few weeks it seems we are all giving 100 per cent in the same direction and it has really helped us. You can see that sort of energy in the changing room."