David McCallum, the former Rangers academy director who took over as Scotland Under-17 head coach this month, has outlined the reasons why Findlay Curtis has forced his way into the Ibrox first team and national side and expressed confidence there is even more to come from the gifted young winger.
McCallum spent years working in a variety of roles in the youth set-up at Auchenhowie and saw first hand just how difficult it was for promising kids to get game time ahead of multi-million pound signings and established senior internationalists from around the world.
So how did Curtis, the 20-year-old who has made 12 appearances under new manager Derek McInnes during the 2026/27 season and is set to feature in the massive William Hill Premiership match against Celtic at Parkhead today, succeed where so many others have failed?
And what lessons can other Scottish professional clubs, who have struggled to bring through the outstanding talents in their age-group sides in recent years, learn from his remarkable success.
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McCallum, whose Scotland under-17 team will play friendlies against their Real Murcia, United States and Belgium counterparts over in Spain in the days ahead, revealed the Balfron boy’s strong mentality has been crucial for him.
"Every coach who's worked with a player will have their own story of why that player is successful,” he said. “But one of the key factors for any player to succeed at the highest level is mindset and I think Findlay's got that abundance. "Findlay has had some bumps along the way. He didn't have an easy straight line to become what he's become. At times, he was maybe not the first choice. He maybe wasn’t getting the big opportunities or the contracts that other players were getting. "But he looked at it head on. He faced it up and believed that he could still achieve. I think the support he received from his family and his agent during his rise has also been key. There's a lot of factors.
"But look at his story. He got into the senior Scotland squad and got to a World Cup. Nobody thought that was going to happen a year ago. I think that shows you that it's more than talent. There's something in your head that actually sets you apart.”
Findlay is confident that Curtis, who will be hoping to add to his haul of five caps in the forthcoming Nations League matches against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia, will be undeterred by the competition he faces for a start at Rangers and will be desperate to build on the progress he has made to date.
"Findlay will look at the money that has been spent by Rangers and the players who've been brought in and he'll still believe that he should be in that company and he can actually impact his time at the club,” he said. " Spending money at top clubs probably doesn't go away. But if you've got that ability to believe in yourself and to back it up then opportunities can exist for sure.
"I know what he's like. He'll be thinking he needs more as well. He'll not be happy to sit there and say, 'I'll pick up minutes here later'. He'll want to be key part of what they're doing. "He will obviously want to come away with Scotland and be a part of things. He will want to be a starter with them, not just be a squad player. You need to have an intrinsic drive to make that happen and he does."
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McCallum was delighted when Curtis made such a positive impression during his loan spell at Kilmarnock – who he helped to keep up in the Premiership - last season and knows that his time at Rugby Park has also been hugely important to his development.
"There is no one way of doing this,” he said. “From a coaching point of view, it's about getting the moment right. From the management point of view, it's also about getting the moment right. "Findlay was picking up minutes with Rangers last season, getting opportunities and scoring goals, particularly in the early part. But then things started to change and it became not letting things become stale effectively. "Findlay felt and the club felt that at that time that he should go out on loan and he went to Kilmarnock and impacted their journey during the last part of the season. "He scored goals, he created goals, he played with a smile on his face and an energy that was infectious. That's probably been key as well. He's earned the right to be where he is at this particular time.”
McCallum is hopeful that other aspiring professionals can draw inspiration from Curtis, who became Scotland’s youngest ever World Cup player when he came on against Haiti in Boston in June, and follow in his stud marks in the seasons ahead. He said, "Any coach who's worked with a player who's achieved something will always look at it and think, ‘That's something I played a part in’. There's a lot of coaches out there, myself included, who have obviously impacted on Findlay. "But the important bit is replicating that? What is it? Why did we get him to that space? How did he do? What did he do himself to get to that space? Was I part of it? Yeah, but so were many others.
“But I know young players around about Findlay are probably looking and thinking, ‘I can be that person’. His mindset is something that I think people can learn from.”
