Born in Lanark and brought up in nearby Carluke, Crawford played as a child with local club Milton Rovers[5] before joining the youth setup at Heart of Midlothian, but he was released in 2006 due to concerns over his slight build.
[9] On 28 August 2012, Crawford scored the only goal of the game as Hamilton beat Partick Thistle 1–0 in extra time in the 2012–13 Scottish League Cup,[10] and he later spoke of his desire to help "kick-start" the season.
[12] At the start of the 2013–14 season, Crawford publicly stated that the new synthetic pitch at New Douglas Park would give Hamilton an advantage over their opponents.
[13] In April 2014 he was selected to the 2013–14 Championship PFA Scotland Team of the Year, alongside teammates Ziggy Gordon and Anthony Andreu.
[14] A month later, Crawford was part of the Hamilton team which won promotion back to the Premiership by defeating Hibernian in the play-off final.