Eyebrows were raised when Massimo Donati joined Hamilton from Bari last year, even at this advanced stage of his career, and his signing was viewed as a coup for the club.

But the Italian insists that he made the right decision, and he hopes that manager Martin Canning can convince his signing targets of the virtues of life at the Superseal Stadium, just as he was.

The 36-year-old says that Accies offer the perfect platform for players both young and old, and that any players mulling over a move to Lanarkshire should take the plunge.

“If you are talking about young players, then I think this is one of the best clubs for young players, because they will have an opportunity to play and learn from their mistakes in the first-team,” Donati said.

“They believe a lot in young players, so it’s a great place for them.

“For older players, not like me because I am so old, but you have an opportunity as well to play in the Premiership, a good league, and you play great games against good teams. Every person has got their own ideas about football.

“It’s like a family here, it’s not a big club, but everyone knows each other here and I’m happy here. I’m coaching the under-15s as well, and when you see young players coming up who will maybe be big players in the future, it is nice.”

Once Donati knew of Hamilton’s interest in bringing him back to Scotland last year, he wasn’t interested in any other opportunities.

He said: “I really don’t know [if I had other options] and it really doesn’t matter. I didn’t think about this when I signed for Hamilton, I was just happy because I like life in Scotland and I like the Premiership.

“My family are so happy too, so it made no sense to look for other opportunities.”

Donati has dismissed any notion that Hamilton’s season really begins with today’s visit of Dundee, after Accies were beaten twice this week by Aberdeen in the league’s opening fixture and then the Betfred Cup.

While not a lot was expected of Hamilton in those games, Donati does acknowledge though that matches against the likes of Dundee are absolutely vital if the league’s smallest side are to defy the odds and avoid relegation again.

“The season has already started,” Donati said. All games are important. We know though that Aberdeen are on another level.

“Our target is to stay in the Premiership, and we will have to battle with teams like Dundee to do that.

“We had two hard games because Aberdeen might have lost two or three players in the summer, but they are still a very good team.

“For us, they were important games, but now we’re looking forward to the next one because what is in the past doesn’t matter.

“We have to learn from the mistakes of those two games, and to be prepared for Dundee is the most important thing.

“They are in a good moment because when you win a derby you feel good, but we are in good spirits too.

“We know in this game that we have to win our battles, and we have to try to win because it’s very important.

“We are training hard and concentrating on this game now.”