After quickly gaining promotion to the First Division and consolidating their place under Maitland, in 2005 Hamilton brought in Billy Reid from Clyde to be the next manager, with MacDonald and other staff also previously having worked with him in that club's youth system. Working within a small budget, Reid successfully built a squad mixed with experienced professionals and promising teenagers, and steered them to the top division by winning the 2007–08 Scottish First Division title. The two most prominent young players, James McCarthy and James McArthur subsequently both signed for Wigan Athletic in England, where they won the 2013 FA Cup Final before moving on again for bigger fees, earning Hamilton a further windfall due to sell-on fees in the original transfers, with the money received being re-invested into the youth academy programme.