Steven Hammell is a Scottish retired professional footballer who last played for Motherwell at left-back before becoming the director of their youth academy. He was in his second spell with the club, having also played for Southend United. Hammell also played once for Scotland, in 2004.
Career
Motherwell
Born in Glasgow, Hammell joined the youth system of Motherwell at the age of fifteen, after Alex McLeish and John Park came to his house and managed to persuade Hammell to take up football full-time. He was loaned out to Bearsden Boys Club, helping them win the league. Upon his return to Motherwell, he made his debut against Aberdeen at Pittodrie at the age of eighteen and thereafter became a regular in the side, making over 200 league appearances across seven campaigns.
Southend United
Hammell joined Southend United in July 2006 on a free transfer from Motherwell after his contract had expired – turning down more established sides such as Derby County, Southampton and Aberdeen. In 2005, Hammell was the subject of a £1m bid from Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic, however the move did not materialise. Hammell came to speak to Southend manager Steve Tilson after a conversation with former Blues loanee Alan McCormack – also of Motherwell. Hammell praised Tilson and the set-up at Southend and after a nervous 48 hours wait whilst Hammell brought his girlfriend down to Essex to check out the area, he agreed to sign a two-year contract.
Return to Motherwell
Hammell rejoined Motherwell in the January 2008 transfer window on deadline day for a fee of £110,000, replacing Jim Paterson at left-back. Earlier in the day Paterson had left the club to join Plymouth Argyle and the proceeds from this transfer were used to buy Hammell. On 18 May 2012, Hammell signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at Fir Park till 2014. He would also be granted a testimonial. On 22 July 2012, Hammell played in his testimonial match for Motherwell against Everton, which finished 1–1. On 26 April 2014, Hammell made his 500th appearance for Motherwell in a 5–1 loss against Dundee United. On 22 May 2014, he signed a new contract at Motherwell, keeping him at the club until Summer 2016. After a freak groin injury kept Hammell sidelined for five months of the 2014–15 season, he made a timely return towards the end of season as the club were battling to avoid relegation. He eventually helped the club retain their Premiership status after Motherwell defeated Rangers by an aggregate scoreline of 6–1 in the Scottish Premiership play-off final. On 5 January 2018, Motherwell announced that Hammell would retire at the end of the month to take up the role of the club's Academy Director. Hammell is Motherwell's post-war record appearance holder.
International career
Hammell was capped twelve times for Scotland U21s, scoring once in the process. Hammell was part of under-21 team that reached the play-offs for the 2004 UEFA European Championships. They were beaten 2–1 by Croatia U21s on aggregate. On 17 November 2004, Hammell made his full international debut for Scotland under caretaker managerTommy Burns in a 4–1 friendly defeat to Sweden, coming on as a 54th-minute substitute for Hearts centre-back Andy Webster. In May 2013, after a nine-year absence from international duty, Hammell was drafted in to the Scotland squad for their FIFA World Cup qualifier against Croatia following injury doubts over other full backs. In July 2013, Hammell managed to retain his place in the Scotland squad to face England at Wembley in August. Hammell received another late call up to the Scotland squad for the return fixture against Croatia in October 2013. On 15 March 2006, Hammell played for the Scotland B team in the Futures Cup against the Turkey B team in a 3–2 defeat. On 6 May 2009, Hammell played a second time for the Scotland B team, in a 3–0 friendly win, this time against the Northern Ireland B team.
