Among Cammy Bell's final acts as a Kilmarnock player was to visit the club's goalkeeping coach, Billy Thomson, and thank him for his support.
Bell presented Thomson with a bottle of whisky, but he also received something himself. As a former Rangers goalkeeper, Thomson could offer advice about the demands and the expectations that come with moving to Ibrox.
There might have been an element of relief for Bell, since he has refused to discuss his switch to Rangers until after Kilmarnock's season ended. As a free agent, he can formally sign for his new team on September 1, when the Ibrox club's registration embargo ends, but the move has been agreed for months. Out of respect to Kilmarnock, but also his own sense of duty, Bell did not acknowledge that he had finalised the deal or even talk about it with Thomson.
"I never really spoke to anyone as I was concentrating on Kilmarnock," Bell said. "I met Billy Thomson [yesterday] morning. He's been great my whole career and brought me on as a goalkeeper. He gave me a bit of advice, which was to go in and work hard. He said it's a great place, where I'll be looked after. He said he knows I'm good enough to do it – hearing that is a great boost to me. I'm looking forward to working with Jim Stewart [Rangers' goalkeeping coach] who I've worked with before [at international level]. Hopefully he can bring me on as well."
At 26, Bell is approaching a significant stage in his career. Moving from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to the Irn-Bru Second Division seems a retrograde step, but Bell is also switching to a bigger club. That is the conundrum facing prospective Rangers signings, since they have to accept a spell in the lower leagues in return for performing in front of 40,000 people at home games and coping with the expectations of the Ibrox crowd.
As a lifelong supporter of the club, Bell also had an emotional attachment to consider. The move was too tempting, not least because Rangers were offering a four-year contract that means he will play a pivotal role in the team's return to the top flight. With Lee Wallace having been called up for the latest Scotland squad, Bell might also be reassured that his international career will not suffer, but there is also an acceptance by players who sign for Rangers in the current circumstances that they have made sacrifices in return for being part of the journey back up the leagues.
"It's still the club it's always been. It's huge," Bell said. "You look at the training facilities, they are second to none. If all of that can't make you a better player then nothing can. We've got high standards here. You need to be a winner. We need to win every game. That's the hunger I've got inside me. It's a long-term plan for me. I want to play in the SPL with Rangers. I want to be back in Europe with Rangers, where they belong.
"Money's never been a factor in this. There were other clubs interested in me, but it was just the sheer size of Rangers. I'm ambitious because I've signed for Rangers. I would disagree with anybody who says it was just about money. There's always pressure at this club, but I've got high standards. If I want to be a Rangers goalie I will have to produce my very best. Hopefully, that can set me on the right path to becoming a great Rangers goalie."
The move is a reward for Bell's perseverance, too. During a loan spell at Montrose, he damaged his knee so badly that the Kilmarnock doctor later remarked that he did not think the goalkeeper would ever play again. Bell only heard of that diagnosis after his rehabilitation, a year later, and the knee has not troubled him in the five years since.
Bell established himself as Kilmarnock's first-choice goalkeeper at a young age, and he now has the opportunity to do the same at Ibrox. If Neil Alexander is able to come to a compromise agreement with the club over a new contract, there will still be competition for the No.1 position, although Bell can only play as a trialist in the opening matches until his contract begins.
"[The knee injury] happened when I was facing a penalty," Bell recalled. "I'd already injured it and was going one way and the boy put the ball the other. I tried to twist back and just collapsed. My knee had completely gone. The physio at Kilmarnock, Alex McQueen, worked long and hard for a year with me in the gym. You get your rewards if you put hard work in. That's what I'm going to do here every day in training. Hopefully, that will bring rewards.
"There are no guarantees here. I've not had any in my career. I need to win people over and prove what I can do. It's going to be very difficult. Rangers being the size of club that they are, they are going to have two good goalies whether that's Neil or someone else. It will only benefit me having a goalie pushing me."
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