Reading loanee Luke Southwood admits he is unsure of Hamilton future

Published: 19 March 2020 5:54 PM

The 22-year-old goalkeeper is on loan from Reading.

Luke Southwood has no idea if he will get the chance to complete his "unfinished business" at Hamilton.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper joined Accies on loan from Reading at the start of the season then returned for a second temporary spell in January, after signing a new contract with the Sky Bet Championship club.

Football is in limbo after the coronavirus crisis brought a halt to fixtures, with no end to the 2019-20 season in sight.

In an interview broadcast on Hamilton's Twitter account, the former England Under-20 international said: "I have loved every minute of being here.

🎙 Part 1/2 – Luke Southwood speaks to the clubs media about the recent Covid-19 outbreak, his time at Accies and pulling on that jersey one more time. 👀#AcciesFC pic.twitter.com/c6w3sElZgK

— Hamilton Accies FC (@acciesfc) March 19, 2020

"It was obviously a challenge when I first came in, having Owain (Fon Williams) in front of me, a top goalie and a top guy.

"I kept my head down, kept working hard and then eventually got my chance and since then I feel like I've kicked on. I have really enjoyed my time in the team, absolutely loved playing for Hamilton, loved the club.

"I have said to a few of the lads I feel there is unfinished business and who knows, I would absolutely love to put the Hamilton shirt on again, that thought really excites me, so we just need to wait and see what happens.

"Making my debut against Rangers, live on BT Sport, was massive for me and my family and something I am really proud of.

"Then the win against Rangers (at Ibrox) is something really special and something I will remember the rest of my life.

Rangers v Hamilton Academical – Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Ibrox Stadium — Loanee Luke Southwood enjoyed Hamilton's recent win at Ibrox (Jeff Holmes/PA)

"But in terms of the emotion at the time, the win against Motherwell away just before the winter break was massive for me. You could see what it meant for everyone, especially the fans, and the celebrations made that day incredibly special and it's something I will remember for the rest of my career."

Southwood admits the abrupt interruption to the season was "absolutely devastating" but understands the reasons.

He said: "We were getting ready to go to play Ross County on the Saturday and 10 minutes after training we found out that we were not travelling and not playing and it doesn't look like we will be playing for quite some time.

Hamilton Academical v Rangers – William Hill Scottish Cup – Fifth Round – Fountain of Youth Stadium — Luke Southwood hopes he has not played his last game for Hamilton

"These are games that potentially won't be replaced. We had just started to hit a good bit of form, everyone was enjoying their football and things started to feel like they were glued together.

"But obviously public health and our health is more important than football and it is something that we've just got to roll with, see what advice we get and make sure we are ready whenever we are asked to come back to football."