CAMERON COUNTS HIS BLESSINGS AFTER FEARING HIS FUTURE WOULDN’T BE IN FOOTBALL

AN HONOURS degree in maths and economics is the qualification Lyall Cameron never plans to use.

Towards the end of 2021, there wasn’t much to commend the 200-mile round trip between Dundee and Peterhead.

Travelling up and down the A90 to sit on the bench for a League Two club drained the young midfielder’s spirits and morale.

Giving serious thought to whether he wanted to carry on as a footballer, he studied his options and enrolled on a course with the Open University.

Named on a four-man shortlist for PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, things are finally looking up.

Out of contract last summer, the 21-year-old penned a two-year deal and, after forging an impressive partnership with Luke McCowan, has passed the test of his first full season in the Scottish Premiership with flying colours.

‘I picked up a uni course going into the last year of my contract when I was not getting a game at Peterhead,’ he reveals.

‘At the start of the Championship (season), I was not playing either, so I started doing maths and economics at uni because you never know what might happen.

‘I just chose it at first because I did okay at school and I did not know where I would be at the end of that final year of my contract so I figured I would just pick something up and I always liked dealing with numbers and maths. That is why I chose that.

‘To be perfectly honest, if everything goes well, I don’t ever plan on using it but it’s just something to have if you ever need it.

‘It is a totally different thing to focus on at times. I never get too caught up in football. I never get too high if I have a good game or too low if I have a bad game. It takes you away from it and makes you focus on something else and you can go into the next game with a clear head.’

There are times when he feels more inclined to study than others. At Peterhead, warming a bench, the motivation was strong. Emerging as one of the breakout stars of the Premiership season, textbooks hold less appeal these days.

‘Sometimes, you can’t be bothered but you still need to get it done, don’t you?’

As Scotland manager, Gordon Strachan bemoaned the genetic flaws which fill the national team with players lacking stature. Five foot nine, Cameron looks smaller on the pitch and might easily have joined the ranks of talented footballers cast aside because they simply weren’t big enough.

Racking his brain for inspirations, he aims high. ‘One that comes into my head