At the age of 19, most players at Premiership level are delighted to be given a few minutes from the bench in the first-team as they try to make their mark in the game.

Hamilton though are a club that very much subscribe to the notion that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, as midfielder Greg Docherty has found to his benefit.

Joining the club ten years ago, Docherty says that even then it was outlined to him clearly what he had to do if he wanted to make the grade at Accies.

On the eve of totting up a remarkable milestone for a player of his age in front of 50,000 fans against Rangers at Ibrox, he can scarcely believe how far he has come in that time.

“This will be my 50th game for the first team and that’ll be a very proud moment for me and my family,” Docherty said.

“But this is the kind of club we’re at – to be 19 and have 50 appearances under my belt is something I’d never have dreamed of, especially since most of them have been in the top league.

“It’s something the coaches here drum into you from a young age. George Cairns, the head of youth development, told me when I was nine years old that if I worked hard and continue to progress, they would get me here.

“As a young boy coming through, these are the games you look forward to being involved in the most. If you’d told me three years ago that I’d be playing in front of 50,000 people in the Premiership this weekend I would have bitten your hand off – but I wouldn’t have believed you.”

With the reputation Hamilton have for youth development, it is perhaps unsurprising that the grounded Docherty has never had his head turned by the attentions of larger clubs.

He has witnessed some cautionary tales of fellow promising talents whose careers have fallen by the wayside after leaving for supposed greener pastures.

He said: “There have been a few that’s happened to and that’s why I’ve always been happy to stay here – not that I’ve had the opportunity to go elsewhere!

“But even when youngsters wanted to leave Hamilton they would also try and persuade them to stay on. Sometimes the grass is greener somewhere else but usually it isn’t.

“I can’t think of anyone who’s left here at youth-team level and gone on to better things and a few I know have dropped out of football all together.

“There will be some who’ve signed for the Old Firm and not made it there but gone on to do well at another club. However, I always tell our kids to stay here because they’ll have a better chance of breaking through.

“I drive past Murray Park every morning on my way to training but I don’t get jealous because I’ve always loved being at Hamilton. I’m comfortable and happy here.”

Given the level of experience that Docherty has gained so far in his fledgling career, it’s little wonder that he is taking the prospect of facing up to some famous names in the Rangers midfield in his stride.

“I’ll thrive on that, assuming I get the opportunity,” he said. “I would never have believed I’d be coming up against [Joey Barton] – even just a couple of years ago.

“Back then I was watching guys like him and Niko Kranjcar on Match of the Day and it’s crazy to think I’ll be playing against them this weekend; they’re top quality.

“You want to show what you can do against guys like that and maybe even learn from them as well. I want to go up against them and prove that I’m not just a wee boy and show that I can reach the level they’ve been at."