He has seen the likes of Josh McPake and Alex Lowry go down to come back up. Now David McCallum, Scotland’s new under-17s coach, is looking forward to seeing youngsters given early opportunities to flourish.
After working at Rangers as a youth coach, and then academy director, he was one of several new hires by the SFA as they revamp their set-up following the appointment of Sebastien Pocognoli at the top of the tree. McCallum will work with Jonny Hayes at under-17s as they look to play their part at a time when there is a big onus on making improvements in how young Scottish players are developed.
As part of that, the governing body has introduced proposals designed to achieve more meaningful minutes for young players.
Under the proposals, two Scotland-eligible under-21 players must start every Scottish Cup and Premier Sports Cup match, and at least one must stay on the pitch at all times. In the league, Clubs across all four divisions should give under-21 Scottish players an average of 60 minutes per game, which equals 6% of available minutes.
The plans were put to all member clubs at last month’s summit in St Andrews. The three proposals will be voted on at an SFA meeting in October and the SPFL's AGM in November. If passed, they will come into force from next season. McCallum hopes to see clubs buy into the vision, and see how it can benefit them individually as well as the wider game in the country.
"I think it's that bit of buying into what it is, for the benefit of a number of things. One, for the Scottish game clearly. But I think from a club point of view, adding value and profile to players is massive and I think it can be done.
“I think there's a lot of talented players across this country and a lot of good work has been done, but the hardest bit is always completing the journey. And that's what I believe everyone is trying to do now, which is to complete the journey for the young players so they add value to their club and hopefully, the club then may not need to spend as much money because you'll see the talent already exists within the building,” he said.
Through his work at Rangers, McCallum saw up close two of the most highly rated talents to come through the club’s academy in recent years in McPake and Lowry. Both were tipped to have big futures at the club but, like so many, their careers stalled after not being afforded opportunities with the first team.
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Now, McPake has been an early season star for Hearts following his move from St Johnstone and Lowry has also impressed so far at Motherwell, to where he made a loan move from Wycombe Wanderers in the summer.
It would seem the penny dropped for both after dropping down a level, but they are also reaping the benefits of regular football.
"I've always believed that players could have had those chances. I think you are seeing some players now go a different way. I look at Josh McPake, who had a couple of moments in the Rangers first team but it didn't work out for him and he had to go a different way. He went down to League Two [with Stirling Albion] at one point in Scotland. So it shows you again that at that time it wasn't right for Josh for whatever reason, but he's looked at it and thought, that experience actually helped him, because he's kicked on.
"I still keep in touch with Josh quite often and you look at him and he's exciting, he's lighting up the game. He's that player who is taking people on and creating chances, scoring goals. His work ethic is also at a high level, so he's added a lot to his game.And maybe that experience of going down to League Two has made him think, 'you know what, I don’t want this' and he thought about what he needed to do to get to the point he is now.
"Talent doesn't go away. Talent is still there - it's when the talent becomes realised, and, again, I think the mindset is a massive part of it. What somebody else has decided doesn't work now, if it works for somebody else now at Hearts or Alex Lowry at Motherwell, then it's just kind of right at the right time. It's smelling the moment, and that's the skill set of the coaches and staff to get it right."
Given his passion for and experience with developing players, the former Queen’s Park man is now enthused about being part of the revamp.
"I think everyone is excited about this. There is a real energy, but I think it's more than that. The messages that have come out in recent weeks and the direction that everyone wants to go in, I am really keen to be part of that.
“I have a real passion for young players developing and getting opportunities and taking the steps at the senior part of the game whether that club or country. I look forward to changing what I used to do in my role in that area and bring it to a different bit of work and hopefully with more of the best players across the country.”
