Hamilton Accies boss Martin Canning has said how pleased he was to see two of his former players shine at Hampden in the League Cup semi-final.

Lewis Ferguson and Michael Devlin both starred for Aberdeen in their 1-0 win over Rangers and there was some pride in Lanarkshire at two former Accies players making an impact.

Devlin moved to Aberdeen last January while Ferguson joined in the summer and enjoyed the biggest moment of his career by scoring the winner at Hampden.

"It's great for both him and Michael," Canning said. "Obviously they both came through our academy and they're both kids that I think a lot of.

"I gave Fergie his debut and with Michael we made him the captain at a young age so it shows you that we hold the both of them in high esteem.

"It's great to see them go on and get to a cup final."

Canning saw the next generation of Accies talent make their mark last week with a UEFA Youth League win over FC Basel. He said that the aim for the club was to develop those players and see them follow in the footsteps of high-profile predecessors into the Accies first team and then on to further success.

"It was brilliant," he said. "I watched the game up in the directors' box and I was completely absorbed, like everybody, completely in the game and jumping about like a maniac when they won so it was fantastic.

"It was great for the kids and for the fans as well, with a great turnout and a great atmosphere. A good occasion for everybody.

"It was great to see them competing at that level and knocking out a club of that stature.

"It's something we have to try and do, and something the club does. You speak about Michael and Fergie , also Greg (Docherty) who joined Rangers, it's part of what we do.

"We try and bring these players through and if they do well with us and the timing is right then they move on and they move to bigger clubs and earn more money. It's the way of the world.

"We just try and bring these kids on, get them in the first team, hopefully they do well for us for a couple of seasons and then we move them on."