He might not be getting as much sleep as before – but Huddersfield Town’s Adam Hammill says the arrival of daughter Isabelle has got him more focused on football.
The 27-year-old Scouser freely admits he has been his own worst enemy in the past, with too many off-the-field issues interrupting his progress on it.
But as he goes into the final 12 months of the thee-year deal he penned on signing from Wolves in June 2013, it’s head down and hard work for
Hammill.
Another loan for the ex-Liverpool and Barnsley wideman who went to Rotherham United last season is a possibility.
But the former Liverpool player is determined to do all he can to make things work out at Town, for whom he was a regular under Mark Robins back in 2013-14.
“It’s a big year for me,” said Hammill, who first featured in a Town shirt in a loan spell from Molineux during the 2012-13 campaign.
“Last season didn’t go according to plan (he made just eight Town appearances, five from the bench, and 14 for Rotherham).
“It was frustrating, especially after I played so many games the season before, and it reflected the stop-start way my career has been.”
However Hammill, who had loans to Dunfermline Athletic, Southampton, Blackpool and Middlesbrough earlier in his career, insisted: “It has made me stronger.
“I really want to produce the form I know I am capable of on a regular basis, and I’d like to do it for Huddersfield Town.
“There are no excuses, I have got myself into too many silly situations in the past, and that’s my own fault.
“I have hindered my career, not other people, but I don’t think I am a nasty or vindictive person.
“And becoming a family man (Isabelle is now six months old) has made me settle down and take more responsibility.
“People have stood by me and I want to repay them, and that means keeping my head down and working hard.
“I have enjoyed pre-season training so far, and it felt good to get on and blow away a few cobwebs in that first friendly at Guiseley.
“Now I’ll carry on getting the miles in and see where it takes me.
“I’m now at that age where I should be coming into my prime, showing everyone what I am capable of and doing it on a consistent basis.”