[5] After a season working alongside MacDonald – who brought in a large contingent of players from the Juniors such as Pat Keogh and Scott McHarg[6] – he guided Clyde to the Scottish Second Division title in his first season in sole charge, winning promotion to the Scottish First Division.
[5] Maitland was then appointed manager of Hamilton in 2003, a short time after Ronnie MacDonald became the club's owner.
Maitland managed to turn the team around and gained promotion to the Scottish First Division in his first season in charge finishing second behind Airdrie United.
[8][5] Maitland then needed to turn this kind of gritty performance to the league to save Alloa from relegation.
He managed to steer the club to a ninth-place finish meaning entry into the playoffs to decide relegation from/promotion to the Scottish Second Division.