Manager Adam Murray believes new signing CJ Hamilton will ‘get people off their seats’ at One Call Stadium due to his exciting wing-play.
The 21-year-old became Stags’ fourth summer signing yesterday following the captures of defender George Taft, striker Danny Rose and winger Ashley Hemmings.
Wide man Hamilton arrives from Sheffield United after enjoying loan spells at Halifax Town and Gateshead in recent times, and boss Murray has pinpointed exactly why he’s brought him to the club.
“[He’s got] loads of potential, one of the quickest things I’ve seen. I think we saw last year with Matt Blair’s pace that when you’ve got that lightning pace, at times, it can affect teams," Murray said.
“CJ is a left-footed player – he’s lightning quick but he’s got a fantastic delivery on him. We believe that with such potential, he’s somebody that can we can bring in; he can be an asset for us.
“We’re hoping he can add to our assists column and our goals column. He’s at a good age, he had a good spell out on loan – at that age getting men’s football under your belt, that ability to understand the importance of three points will have done him the world of good.”
The speedy Hamilton was an in-demand individual when his services became available, and Mansfield rapidly pounced when the opportunity arose to get him to put pen-to-paper on a contract.
“He was due to sign for a League 1 club that was in the play-offs this year, and it didn’t quite come off because of their success, they opted to go and buy someone. We jumped in, managed to get it done quickly and nick him.
“If CJ does what he’s capable of doing, he’s going to be a right handful in League 2. He’ll have to go and earn a shirt and I’m more than confident he can do that.”
The gaffer has explained what Stags’ supporters can expect from Hamilton on the pitch, whilst also acknowledging that his attributes match how the club approached games in the 2015-16 campaign.
“When he gets the ball, he gets people off their seats. He can carry the ball 50 yards at ‘400 miles per hour’ and give you an end product which, at times, I thought last season that we lacked a little bit.
“There’s a lot of work to do there in terms of his tactical nous – he’s only [21]-years-old so you expect that.
“We won a lot of our games last year, especially away from home, on the counter-attack because of our pace. What we want to do is make sure we keep that level of energy – not just the ability to run fast, but the ability to play fast and that comes with good players.”
Furthermore, Murray feels that Hamilton’s approach on the pitch is a 'dying breed' in football which makes him more of an attractive proposition.
“That raw ability to knock it past someone is actually going out of the game. Everyone wants to do four million step-overs, eight Cruyff turns and come inside and lose it.
“That’s why I think CJ is very positive, he wants to open people up. He’s not a speedboat without a driver, he’s got a bit of intelligence in there as well.”
Supporters can watch Adam Murray speaking about CJ Hamilton on Stags Player HD.
