Happy Birthday to Dean Campbell who is 18 today! Dean is with the Scotland U19s this week, but before heading off he spoke to the Red Matchday Editor:

 

“If they’re good enough, they’re old enough” is a hoary old cliche of the game, but rarely has it seemed more applicable than in the case of Dean Campbell.

Already he holds the record as Aberdeen’s youngest ever player but now, after a white hot week in Glasgow in which the character of this team shone through, he’s beginning to look like one of its oldest heads with two hugely composed and significant performances at Celtic Park and then at Ibrox where Dean made his first start.

Perhaps that’s only to be expected from a youngster who calmly sat his Higher English exam one afternoon as a 16 year old before turning out against Celtic for his debut that evening.

Last season, Dean captained the U20 side to within reach of a league and cup double was a real possibility, led the side out at Hampden for the Youth Cup Final and played his part in the final league match of the campaign, a priceless 1-0 victory over Celtic at Celtic Park. He even scored his first Aberdeen goal against Livingston at the end of December in what is beginning to look like something of a breakthrough season for him. Typically though, his feet are firmly on the ground, which isn’t always the case with young men who make a debut so early.

“I think people need to realise that at our age we are going to make mistakes. The best way to learn is often by making mistakes. I am still learning and working on my game. I need to work on my positional sense, especially in terms of defending. I want to be able to get closer to opposition players in midfield at the right times. I also need to concentrate better on tracking runners when the opposition have the ball and players are breaking forward.

“I also need to sharpen up my feet and move a bit quicker so I am in the right position to intercept or tackle. At the moment I am working on speed and also my strength in the gym. I feel that on the ball, I am able to cope with the first team standards. I feel when we play attacking football it is good for me and suits my game, but I know there is so much more to being a good all-round player than just what you do on the ball.

“Everyone wants to play for the first team and I am no exception. I want to get more minutes, but I always knew this season it was going to be a challenge as there are top players ahead of me. All I could do was get my head down and work hard and try and impress through training and the games I played in the reserves. It is down to me, and me only, to get to where I want to be, just as Scott has shown over the last 18 months.

“I have to work as hard as I can and bring a level of performance into everything I do. Whether it be playing for the reserves on a Monday afternoon in front of a few people or playing at a full Celtic Park, you have to be at your best, with the right attitude, all the time. You are always being monitored and you need to always impress.

“At the moment I have been doing quite well in the games I have been playing, and I got some reward by getting on in the second half against Celtic and then getting my first start at Ibrox. There are always nerves when you play in these big games. There are a lot of people watching and it can be a hostile atmosphere. But once you get out there and start playing, you soon forget about everything and just focus on your job.

“The other players definitely helped me a lot. I was playing close to Lewis Ferguson in midfield. Behind me, Scott McKenna and Andy Considine were talking me through the game. It’s good to have experience around me because it helps me settle down in the game and allows me to do what I can to help the team.

“It was brilliant for me and these are the games I want to be involved in because you are up against the best players in the country. I want to test myself against the best players and show the manager that he can trust me against players of that calibre. It is brilliant for my confidence and can only help take me to the next level.

“That we have so many young boys in and around the first team is brilliant for the youth academy. Photos like the one of Ethan and me at full time at Celtic Park, or Connor and me at Ibrox show how well the Academy is doing. I think in the past in Glasgow, there were five or six Youth Academy graduates in the squad and that highlights just how many players they are producing at the moment.

“It’s great for the likes of Ethan and myself because we have been in the same team since we were 12. To come all the way through and then to play in the first team together is very special.

“The photo will also hopefully show the players in the youth academy, that it is doable, there is a pathway. For myself, I have seen Scott McKenna come through and do so well. I have seen the likes of Scott Wright, Frank Ross and Connor McLennan making it into the first team and that gave me a lift and belief that I could do the same.

“Hopefully the players will feel the same when they see Ethan and myself playing. It should inspire the players at the lower age groups and show them that if they work hard and have the right attitude towards progressing then it is achievable.

“I think my performances have earned me the right to be in and around the first team at the moment. You don’t get given anything just because you are from the academy, you have to show your worth. In the games that we have left, if I am called upon, whether that be starting or coming off the bench, I am looking to be ready and to do as well as I can in the games.

“It is brilliant for my confidence that the gaffer is trusting me to go into these games and believe that I am able to do a job for the team. It has given me the confidence that I can do well in any game.”

The next challenge on the horizon after today’s game with Livingston will be in national colours. With the UEFA Under 19 European Championships coming up in the summer, there are key Elite Round games coming up in Portugal this month. Billy Stark’s team face the hosts, Cyprus and Turkey, the group winners qualifying for the finals in Armenia.

“It is a very tough group”, admits Dean. “It is the last round before we go into the European Championships, so you would expect the opposition to be of a good standard. We are looking forward to the trip though. We have a strong squad. The competition for starting places is really strong, so after the game today I will turn my attention to Scotland.”

And on his return, thoughts will begin to turn to the run-in to the league split and then the Scottish Cup semi-final and a return to Glasgow – Hampden Park this time.

“I have only played there in the Youth Cup final. That was a very disappointing result but still a good experience to get that under my belt at a young age.

“But before the Scottish Cup final against Celtic two seasons ago, I had to do a two minute interview about the SFA Performance Schools on the microphone on the pitch before the game! That was probably more nerve wrecking than playing!

“As a club, we make no secret of the fact that the Scottish Cup is absolutely huge for us, because we always say at the start of the season we want to win silverware. This is the best chance we’re going to get now this season, so it’s a huge game for the club and one we will look forward to when the time comes.

“Being a fan growing up adds an extra level of excitement for me going into games like that, knowing that we could get into a Scottish Cup final. I’ve been to plenty of cup finals and semi-finals at Hampden as a fan in the stands in the past few years, so I’m hoping this is my time to get on the pitch instead, we’ll see what happens between now and then.

“As most people now know my whole family are massive Aberdeen fans and they go to every game they can, so to progress in the competition is incredible for them, me and the club. But we just have to take one game at a time. There are some huge league games to play first and we’ve got to focus completely on those.”