Bell’s pain eased by exile’s end
BY FRASER WILSON
CAMMY BELL can’t wait to see Dundee United end their Premiership exile as it will finally ease the play-off pain he’s carried for the last three years.
The keeper was skipper when the Terrors missed out on an immediate return to the top flight by losing a two-legged shoot-out against Hamilton in 2017.
For Bell, it was the second time he’d felt the agony of falling at the final hurdle, having been in the Rangers side that selfdestructed two years earlier against Motherwell.
Bell, now at Queen’s Park, said: “United are a massive club and I can’t wait to see them back in the Premiership.
“I loved my time there. The fans will be buzzing and it’s no more than they deserve after four years out of the top-flight picture.
“I’ll never forget the pain of losing that play-off final to Hamilton. It was the second time in three years I’d lost the Final. Both were huge disappointments but the United one was harder to take because with Rangers we were probably out of the tie after losing the first leg 3-1 at Ibrox.
“But with United we were 0-0 going into the second leg at Hamilton and we always felt we had a good chance. We were right in the tie. We took a huge support as well.
“But we were playing two games a week for three weeks in the play-offs. Hamilton didn’t have to do that and we just couldn’t get over the final hurdle.
“It was a body blow to us. We knew we were destined for another year in the Championship. As it turned out, it took another three seasons to get out.
“The Championship is such a difficult division and anyone can beat anyone on their day – it’s a slog. I’m just delighted to see United finally get out of it.”