Campbell's career goes front to back and then back to front

It was reinforced to Alloa Athletic striker Craig Campbell that he was back playing at a higher level last week when he was able to watch the First Round of the Scottish Cup pass by.

Campbell has featured in the tournament in the past couple of seasons for Highland League side Nairn County, ironically playing alongside a Scottish Cup winner in David Hannah, and whilst 34 sides were battling it out to make the Second Round last Saturday, Campbell was coming off the bench to ensure that The Wasps defeated Montrose 4-2.

The 27-year-old's journey to avoiding the First Round of the knockout competition started at his home town club of Ross County 11 years ago when he signed for a newly promoted First Division Victoria Park side then managed by Neale Cooper.

Campbell said: “I had been a Schoolboy Form signing at the club and played in their youth system before joining as a full-time player.  I had no set position at that time but I made my debut as a striker in 2000.”

Cooper left County a couple of years later and his replacement, Alex Smith, saw the then striker in a different position with Campbell saying: “Alex saw me as a right back and I played a few games there over the rest of my time at County.”

Despite his versatility, Campbell never established himself as a first team regular and he left Dingwall in the summer of 2004 with a tinge of disappointment recalling: “I don’t regret my time there, it simply never worked out as well as I would have liked.  It was my only spell as a full-time player and I wished I had played more games.

“I had loan spells at Peterhead and Elgin City and also had a spell in Iceland for three months before electing to sign for Peterhead in the summer of 2004.  It was only an okay spell as I did not really enjoy it that much.  I found the transition from full-time to part-time difficult and again I never started games as often as I could have.”

Campbell then dipped into The Highland League for the first time as he joined Forres Mechanics for a season and after a year of playing regularly, he was asked to step back up to senior football by Third Division Elgin City.

Campbell said: “Brian Irvine was the Manager there at the time and he asked me to come back to Borough Briggs.  I knew a lot of the players at the club as they had been youth players at Ross County and had moved there looking for another chance in football after being released.

"It was a difficult time for the club and we struggled at the foot of the division.”

After picking up seven points from their initial 17 games, Irvine left and he was replaced with Campbell saying: “Robbie Williamson came in to manage the side along with Kenny Gilbert, who I knew from County as well, and things improved.  We put in a good challenge for a Play-Off place the next season but just missed out.”

Williamson left in December 2008 and Ross Jack took over with Campbell commenting: “Ross came in and I knew him as I used to play football with his son however, I had already made my mind up again that I was leaving in the summer.  I was looking for a fresh challenge so I went back to The Highland League with Nairn County.”

Campbell was by this time playing in midfield however, a shortage of firepower saw him moved up front and he never looked back as he explained: “The Nairn County Manager, Les Fridge, asked me to play up front and that seemed to suit me as I scored 54 goals in two seasons.  In my first season, we defeated Golspie Sutherland 5-2 in the First Round of the Scottish Cup and then played Elgin.

“They beat us 4-2 but at least I got a goal.  Last season we played Rothes and Cove Rangers and had David Hannah in our team.  He won the Scottish Cup with Dundee United and I knew him from our time together at Ross County.  Having a player of that experience in a Highland League side was great.”

Campbell moved down to the central belt of Scotland last October as his wife Diane (also known as DJ 'Knoxy'), underwent a 'transfer' of her own from Moray Firth Radio in the north to Radio Clyde.  Despite this move, Campbell continued to travel up to Nairn for matches although he was able to sharpen up his game by training in a full-time environment.

“I gave up my job when we moved down here but I carried on playing for Nairn although I trained down here.  Kenny Brannigan allowed me to train with Queen of the South in Glasgow and that helped me enormously and I remain thankful that he allowed me to do that.

“I had another year left of my contract at Nairn but I asked to be released in the summer as I am working down here now and I did not want to do the travelling anymore.  I am not sure how Paul Hartley had heard of me but I was invited in for pre-season training at Alloa.”

Campbell continued: “It was a really exciting time for everyone with Paul just starting with virtually a new squad and I was pleased that I did well enough to be offered a deal.”

The frontman is pleased to be a part of what he sees as a very talented squad as he explained: “It is great to be back in the Third Division and the squad that the Manager has put together is pretty talented.  Paddy Connolly and the Manager deserve a lot of credit for bringing together the players they did in such a short space of time.”

One of the other players that Hartley recruited during the summer is presently keeping Campbell from the starting eleven as former Celtic, Ayr United, Stranraer and East Stirlingshire striker Kevin Cawley, with six goals in his last three games, is on a hot streak just now.

Team-mate Campbell said: “Kevin has been outstanding recently and like a lot of guys in our squad, he can go on and play at a higher level.  We have also added Robbie Winters and his experience is great to have on board as well.”

The Wasps have moved up into second place on the back of a four game winning run however, feet are firmly planted on Clackmannanshire soil as Campbell explained: “No one here is getting carried away and although we are going well, nothing has been achieved as yet.

"There is a belief in each other throughout the squad and the club is well run from the Chairman to the Kit Man to the Fitness Coaches so I reckon we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”

As well as team goals, Campbell has his own objectives to meet as he explained: “A lot of people say there is not a step-up from The Highland League to the Third Division but I would say there is and it is quite a big gap.  There are a lot of guys in the Third Division who would still be in full-time football if different economic conditions prevailed.  The standard in the Third Division is really good and I am out to establish myself at this level and getting my first competitive goal would help me do that.”

Campbell returns to Borough Briggs this weekend looking for that initial strike and he said: “I would love to get that first goal on Saturday although I am sure that it would not get the warmest of reactions from my former supporters in the Elgin crowd.”