'Stranraer boy' James Hilton reveals reasons for Edinburgh City move as he prepares to face hometown club

Edinburgh City midfielder James Hilton is looking forward to making the trip back to hometown club Stranraer this weekend.
James Hilton returns to his hometown club Stranraer with Edinburgh City on Saturday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)James Hilton returns to his hometown club Stranraer with Edinburgh City on Saturday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
James Hilton returns to his hometown club Stranraer with Edinburgh City on Saturday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Having grown up on the Stair Park terraces as a youngster, 'Jinky', as he is more affectionately known, also played two seasons with the club before being coaxed to the Citizens by boss Gary Naysmith in June.

The 23-year-old admits that despite a late plea from Blues boss Jamie Hamill to remain put, he insists he needed a fresh start and is loving life with the Capital outfit.

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"It's a lot different," Hilton said. "I feel it's a lot more professional as the gaffer is so in-depth with everything so it's almost like he's turned a part-time club into full-time. It took a bit of time to get used to all the video analysis stuff but I've found my feet.

"I'm a Stranraer boy having lived there for 17 years so a lot of my friends will be there tomorrow. I used to go to the games but I moved up to Glasgow when I started college after leaving school. I never played as much football as I wanted to last season so I made the decision to leave. I was looking for a fresh start so I have no regrets. It would have been the easy option to stay with Stranraer but I wanted to go and learn more because every club is different."

City are currently fifth in League Two following an inconsistent start to the season, but Hilton believes they have turned a corner.

"I think a lot of people have already written us off but we know we have a good group here who can challenge at the right end of the table at the business end of the season," he said. "We've had a few injuries, not just myself, despite it being so early in the season. I think the international break has done us the world of good as it's given us that bit more time to allow the injuries to settle down. We won our last game prior to the break so hopefully it hasn't disrupted our momentum too much."

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