His studies towards a Masters in Economics degree have taught Lyall Cameron the importance of having credit in the bank. At times, he feared that his reserves in the game were running too low.
A move to Rangers is not being viewed as him hitting the jackpot. A free transfer from Dundee, Cameron is now aiming to prove his worth all over again.
He is honest enough to acknowledge that he was not exactly destined to be a Rangers player. In the tougher years of his career at Dundee – and during loans at Montrose and Peterhead – the prospect of lining up in a Champions League fixture with Panathinaikos felt like a dream that could not be achieved.
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Yet, here he is. That tie is now less than a fortnight away and there is a place in Russell Martin’s midfield up for grabs. It is a place that Cameron is determined to make his.
Cameron is one of six new faces within the squad that Martin has put through their paces at St George’s Park this week. His spot at Ibrox has been earned through hard graft and deep faith. Indeed, it has been earned the hard way.
“In all honesty, I probably didn’t think I would get to this point,” Cameron said. “I thought I was coming towards the time where it was now or never, but I got quite lucky with a couple of breaks and I took my opportunities when they came.
“Now I am where I am. But if I am being truthful, I probably didn't think I'd ever get here. If you said two years ago that I would be signing for Rangers I wouldn’t have believed you.
“I've obviously been pretty confident in my abilities as a football player, but even when you are having bad spells at a club you start to think, am I what I thought I was?
“You do kind of rethink it, but at the end of the day it all comes down to just working hard every day in training and that's what I did even when I was on loan and went back to Dundee.
“I worked as hard as possible and it paid off in the end. I think that's the thing with a lot of young football players, they go through bad spells and obviously they just fall by the wayside.
“Thankfully I managed to keep going and it's paid off. I've been in situations where I've maybe not been expected to play as much and I expected that when I came here, I didn't expect to come to the Rangers and play every week.
“Obviously a lot of people doubted me, but I want to come here and make an impression and play as much as possible.”
Cameron has proven his ability with the ball at his feet over recent Premiership campaigns. He has also shown a mental resolve. Both of those qualities will be needed at Ibrox.
The 22-year-old has joined a midfield that already contained Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande. Joe Rothwell and Thelo Aasgaard have also been added to an area of the squad that has strength and depth heading into the new campaign.
The journey from the lower leagues to the Champions League is an inspirational one. Cameron is taking it all in his stride so far.
“To be honest I try not to get too ahead of myself and think about it too much,” Cameron said. “I just take things at face value for what they are and I don't think about loads of fans, massive stadiums and all that.
“I've been to Ibrox before and I know they were a massive club before I joined and that's why I joined them because I was so excited to get started. But now that I'm here I feel like I should be here and that's what I'm trying to do.
“I'm not trying to get too ahead of myself and just try and do my best and hopefully it's enough to get consistent games and help contribute to winning games. I can't be overwhelmed by the situation I'm in because I've worked hard in my career to get here.
“I'm just going to take it as it comes and hopefully do the best I can. I think when I was younger maybe that's something I struggled with when I was on loan.
“If I wasn't getting games I'd let it get to me. But I'm able to deal with it a bit better and just be a lot more relaxed about everything. I think it's quite a good way to be to be honest because you don't obviously want to get ahead of yourself.”
Cameron put pen-to-paper on a long-term deal back in January. Rangers opted not to make a move to bring the transfer forward and he spent the second half of the campaign at Dens Park as he helped Dundee retain their Premiership status.
That was Cameron’s focus for those months. In recent weeks, his eyes have all been focused on matters at Ibrox. It is, therefore, no surprise to learn that his studies have taken a backseat.
“No, it's still ongoing, I actually took a break this year,” Cameron said. “With the Open University you can carry it on whenever you want.
“It's been pretty busy to be honest with a lot that's going on, so maths and economics I've done two years credit and I can just pick up whenever I've got the chance again.
“It's still the same thing, you never know what's going to happen and I never want to get too ahead of myself.
“I'm not thinking I’ve made it because I’m at Rangers now because that's not the way it is, I still need to make an impression here and become a key player here, that's my goal. I'll definitely pick it up again at some point.”
That endeavour will come much further down the line for Cameron. Right now, he has a bounce game at St George’s Park to look forward to and another week of training before Panathinaikos make the trip to Ibrox.
The work under Martin has been intense so far. Information has been absorbed at a rapid rate as ground has been covered and drills have been worked through.
“I’m loving it,” Cameron said. “I’ve only been here three weeks, but I feel like I’ve been here forever.
“Everyone has welcomed me, the players, staff and manager. It’s been great so far and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a great time for me to come here because there’s real optimism.
“I’m looking forward to the season getting started and we play competitive games. The manager is very tactical but his main message is just to work hard. If you do that, he’ll be happy.
“All he asks is that you work hard and you’re brave for him. If you do that, he’ll treat you the best way he can. He’s good for that. So far, everything he’s been really positive and bright.
“He’s brought a lot of new messages and a new style of play but we’re enjoying taking it on board and trying to implement it into our game.”
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