BELL’S ALL GLOVED UP
SHOT-STOPPER CAMMY ON HIS NEW CHALLENGE AT QUEEN’S PARK:
MARCH 18, 2012 and May 31, 2015 – two dates forever etched in Cammy Bell’s memory after a rollercoaster career he hopes is about to hit the heights again.
The feelings connected to both could hardly be at further ends of the emotional spectrum.
From the euphoria of his man of the match performance in winning the League Cup with Kilmarnock to the depths of conceding THAT goal in the Premiership play-off final with Rangers at Motherwell.
The latter still hangs unfairly over the 33-year-old shot-stopper due to the circumstances surrounding Rangers’ failure to win promotion back to the top flight that year.
An operation to clean up the knee injury he had been playing through combined with the arrival of Wes Foderingham meant Bell never played for the club again despite spending another year at Ibrox.
But rather than erasing all memory of that Fir Park faux pas, Bell insists he will never allow the mental anguish which lingered through his wedding five days later to leave him.
Because those bad days and the agony attached only serve to make the good moments all the brighter.
Bell is embarking on a new chapter of his career after signing an 18-month deal with Queen’s Park.
The move raised a few eyebrows but he insists the ambition of the newly-professional Spiders has brought a spark back to his career that was in danger of fizzling out as he jumped between clubs after leaving Ibrox.
Bell said: “Queen’s Park have an exciting project. A full-time structure, everything being professional and something a bit different to what I’ve tried.
“I’ve jumped about a few clubs since I left Rangers but still have a good few years left in me. That’s what I want to prove.”
He really shouldn’t have anything to prove after a career that has seen him play a lead role in stopping Celtic to lift the League Cup at Hampden, win a Scotland cap, help Rangers lift the League One title unbeaten and even have the distinction of producing a hat-trick of penalty saves in one game for Dundee United.
But then there’s always that one failed punch at Fir Park five years ago.
He said: “Everyone has their own opinions on that goal. I have always said it was a mistake but we lost the tie 6-1 overall. We lost the tie in the first leg when we were beaten 3-1 at Ibrox. We had run out of steam by the time we got there.
“As a keeper you get crucified for mistakes like that and it’s a lonely position to be in at times. Mentally it was tough but there have been highlights since then.
“I went to Dundee United after that and saved three penalties in one game. I don’t think anyone will ever do that again in Scottish football or even British football.
“You just have to deal with the setbacks. It’s sometimes difficult but that’s just the way it needs to be.
“Dealing with criticism is part and parcel of the life of a keeper. Then you have highlights like winning the
League Cup with Kilmarnock against Celtic in 2012.
“It was one of those games where nothing went wrong for me.
“I probably made the best save of my career against Anthony Stokes when he headed it back across me and I got a fingertip on it to turn it round the post.
“For Killie to win a cup doesn’t happen very often. Those moments are the ones you look back on and remember for the rest of your life.
“The mistakes stay in your head too and that is a good thing – you don’t get carried away with yourself.
“They help you enjoy the good moments more when you remember how low you have been.
“So it’s important to have a bit of both. I always say to younger guys when you win things make sure you enjoy it because it doesn’t happen that often.”
Despite the turmoil at Ibrox souring his three-year spell, Bell will never have any regrets about leaving Killie to sign for his boyhood heroes in 2013.
He said: “To get the opportunity to play for the biggest club in Scotland and the history it has was amazing. I grew up a Rangers fan.
“So to play 50-odd games for the club and be part of the journey back to where they are now is great.
“It wasn’t always easy. There were question marks over whether they would ever get back to the top. “When we were asked to take pay cuts it raised questions over the finances. “It was a difficult period. There was so much change at boardroom level in my time – the chief executive changed several times – and until they got that right I don’t think they went in completely the right direction.
“But they are now. They are well run from top to bottom. It was almost like a storm you need to ride. When there’s such a huge change in a club there’s always going to be turmoil before you come out the other side.
“In my first season in League One we went unbeaten. People say it was only League One but it’s difficult to go unbeaten at any level of football.
“That was a proud moment because we had won the league and we kept on going to make sure we got the unbeaten record.”
And so Bell finds himself back at Hampden – the venue for the greatest moment of his career in 2012 – as the most high-profile of Queen’s Park’s signings since turning pro.
Ray MacKinnon signed the keeper for Dundee United and Falkirk and has now swooped to take him to the Spiders who have big plans bolstered by the financial backing of Willie Haughey.
Bell said: “The plans are huge. If everything they are saying to me comes off then they will be right up there in a few years time, they have the right people behind them.
“They want to get in to the Championship as soon as possible and then consolidate there. Then it will be about making a push for the Premiership.”
I still have a good few years left in me – that’s what I want to prove