Chime for Viking

club, which gave me the chance for that first stepping stone, on to bigger things hopefully in the future.”

It’s a lofty goal, but few would doubt Bell’s capacity to achieve it. He has handled every step up with aplomb so far, though admits the progression from college to professional has been considerable.

“The biggest standout is the intensity in training every day,” said Bell. “Back in college, you could be off for a day or two, or get by playing at maybe 80 per cent. Here, you have to be at 100 per cent every day.

“That is really good for me, allowing me to learn to focus on every moment of the game. As soon as you switch off, you get punished.”

The physical side was also tough, in a brutal pre-season.

“Mountain men, that’s how I’d describe it,” Bell said with a laugh. “But it was good for the body. There were some long trainings, and we have a great fitness coach who likes to make use of the landscape. There were some hill runs in horizontal rain but you need to harden up somehow.”

Bell has already noted the strong local football culture, and Viking is one of the best supported clubs in the Eliteserien.

Roy Hodgson and Uwe Rosler have previously held the manager’s position, and notable European scalps include Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon (in the Uefa Cup), in front of packed houses at their 16,000 capacity stadium.

“I’ll be excited to get back with the team,” said Bell. “But so far everything has been fantastic. Up until January, I was balancing school and football at the same time. Now it’s different and it’s given me more chance to focus on other aspects of the game that I wanted to previously but didn’t have time.”