Adam Hammill has swapped the EFL for the League of Ireland. In what is seen as coup for the Irish club, Hammill has signed for Derry City from Scunthorpe United.
Adam Hammill Signs for Derry City
Hammill’s Capture Seemed Unlikely
Declan Devine is the manager of Derry City. He has known Hammill for over a decade which, in part, helped persuade the player to sign. However, Devine believes that Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the running of EFL clubs – a fact acknowledged by many. Uncertainty over wage budgets, contracts and starting dates have left many players in a state of limbo.
Devine believes that these reasons helped convince Hammill to join Derry.
“I’ve known Adam for a long time and he’s a quality player who has had a wonderful career,” revealed Devine, as he spoke to the Official Derry City website.
“To be fair, he’s the type of player we wouldn’t have been able to bring to this league had it not been for the pandemic affecting the leagues in England.”
Devine was previously a coach at Scottish club Dunfermline Athletic. It was here where he first worked with Hammill, when the winger joined Athletic on loan in January 2007. At the time, Hammill was a trainee at Liverpool.
Adam Hammill Needs a Fresh Start
The 2019/20 season cannot have been enjoyable for Hammill. He signed for Scunthorpe United in January 2019 from St. Mirren. Immediately, he made an impact by scoring a late equaliser on his debut during a 1-1 home draw with Sunderland. However, last summer, the League Two club appointed Paul Hurst as their new manager. He was tasked with helping the newly relegated club to regain their League One status. It never happened.
Scunthorpe struggled at the start of the season. Following their fourth loss in five games, the Iron were bottom of the EFL. Hammill was one of the players who paid the price. Not only was he dropped by Hurst, but his manager hinted that had no future at the club.
“I have just been disappointed with a few things since he (Hammill) has been here and, in the end, things have come to a head and that is why I left him at home,” said Hurst after a defeat to Macclesfield Town.
In order to play competitive football, Hammill opted to leave Scunthorpe via a loan move. In September 2019, he joined Stockport County of the National League, where he stayed until his return to United in January.
By March 2020, Hurst had been sacked by Scunthorpe. Russ Wilcox had been appointed as caretaker-manager. The new manager had fresh ideas. Wilcox, in an early-March interview with BBC Radio Humberside, suggested that he could recall Hammill to the first team.
Sadly, for Hammill, the Covid-19 pandemic would cause the premature ending of the League Two season in mid-March. He never got the chance to play for United again. The Lincolnshire club released him in May, along with ten other players.
Hammill Has a Wealth of Experience
At the age of 32, Hammill has vast experience of both English and Scottish football. In total, he has played for 12 clubs either side of the border. Most notable was his time at Barnsley, where he enjoyed three spells at the South Yorkshire club between 2009 to 2018. During Barnsley’s League One play-off final victory over Millwall in 2016, he was named their Man of the Match. The victory earned Barnsley a promotion to the Championship.
Currently, the League of Ireland is suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Hammill is expected to make his Derry debut on July 31st. This the day when his new club resume their league campaign with a home match against Sligo Rovers.
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