PETERHEAD TO PANATHINAIKOS

New boy Lyall admits his odyssey from the lower leagues to big Euro nights with Rangers still doesn't seem real

- BY SCOTT MCDERMOTT

YOU could forgive Lyall Cameron for pinching himself at some point.

Just so he knows for sure that it's actually happening.

Not that he doesn't deserve to be a Rangers player. Or that he's not earned it. You bet he has. And the 22-year-old Scot is hellbent on embracing it.

But given where he's come from he's entitled to feel like everything is still a bit surreal.

After all, in the space of just three years he’s gone from ploughing away at Peterhead to preparing for Panathinaikos in the Champions League.

That's the journey Cameron has embarked on to get here.

While at Dundee, he was farmed out to Balmoor in League One twice, before another loan stint at Montrose.

Now? Well, he's mixing it with the rest of Rangers’ new boys and gearing up for a vital European qualifier.

Cameron is up for the challenge of forcing his way into Russell Martin's first-team at Ibrox.

But he’s humble enough to admit that when he was plying his trade in Scotland's lower leagues he feared he might not even make it as a professional footballer.

The fact he has - and got himself a move to Rangers from Dens Park - tells you everything about his resilience, determination and talent. And now that he's got there, he wants to make the most of it.