Campbell has led the Under-18s side for the past two seasons but will now step into an individualised role within the PDP where he will work specifically with the highest potential players in the Academy.
In a wide-ranging interview with RangersTV, Campbell outlined his excitement at the opportunity that awaits: “Youth football, for me, has always been an individual sport. The team has always been the vehicle for players.
“No player signs for Rangers to be an Under-18s or B Team player; they sign to train in the hope of playing for the first-team. All we want to do now is have a much more targeted and specialised approach to make sure those high potential players, and those who deserve extra, go and get them.
“The club have done this really well in terms of having a transition from Under-16s, to Under-18s, and onto the first-team. We all know it’s the hardest thing in football to go from being a young professional to becoming an established first-team player. Hopefully this role can bring a lot more clarity to it.
“We believe that the pathway should now flow smoother given that we have someone dedicated to looking after those high potential players, whether it’s myself working extensively alongside the first-team staff, to working with the Professional Development Phase and Youth Development Phase staff members to ensure we have an alignment of where we see the players going and what we can do to maximise their potential.”
Campbell will work extensively alongside Michael Beale and his coaching staff at first-team level, providing a familiar face on the training pitch for Academy players who are called up to the train with the first-team.
He continued: “The first-team coaching staff have been brilliant with me so far. My relationship with the manager here has been well-documented, and I’m really thankful for the influence that he’s had on my career so far.
“In this role, there are a lot of different elements which can help strengthen the bond between Academy and first-team, but also that transition from our high potential Academy players to becoming established first-team players.
“If you look at how successful we have been in the past, with Billy Gilmour, Nathan Patterson, and the next generation in Alex [Lowry], Leon [King] and Adam [Devine], hopefully the next group behind that, Bailey [Rice], Zak [Lovelace] and Archie Stevens who have already played for the first-team, will have a smooth transition by having a familiar face when they come over to train with the first-team.
“Every member of staff within this building has one common goal and that’s to maximise every single player’s potential. It would be really naïve of us to do that in an isolated situation because these players go back to their parents, digs, and speak to their friends, so it’s really important that we’re aligned in that process.
“We want to be really open in the process and communicate about why we’re doing things, and at what time we’re doing it, which can hopefully only benefit the players.
“We talk about ball, game, body, mind. I’m by no means an expert in any of those, so I’m looking to tap into the expertise within the building, whether that’s sports science or medical, to our new psychology department who have started here as well.
“One of my main jobs is to try lead all those different departments together in order to get the best outcome for each individual. These individuals are all different, unique, or on their own journeys.”
Meanwhile, Academy Director, Zeb Jacobs, insists Campbell’s attributes and coaching experience working in both Denmark and Ghana at the Right to Dream Academy made him ideally suited to the role.
He explained: “The PDP Talent Development Coach is a role that we’ve created for Cameron based on what we see and to take the next step forward in our vision.
“We wanted to use a strength-based approach, looking at all the staff and their strengths, and how we can maximise it in our building. We always look at what players can do, rather than what they can’t do, and that’s the same with staff.
“When we had conversations with Cameron, it was about how we could maximise his qualities in order to take our Academy to the next level. Cameron is a really divergent thinker, and he challenges the status quo.
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for in terms of building the most exciting learning environment in sport. When we looked at Cameron’s strengths, we sat together and wanted to individualise a programme. His skillset is unique, so it was about bringing that together and creating the Talent Development Coach role in the PDP, which will accelerate the development of our high potential players in the direction of the first-team.”
Jacobs describes the project as the High Potential Player Programme, which will provide a clear lens on individual player development and ensure that there is a focus on maximising the potential of the specific player as opposed to the collective team.
He continued: “It’s a programme with the aim of getting players into the first-team. In terms of responsibilities, Cameron will be really close to some individuals because it’s important that we have a clear context in the journey. He will make sure that there are challenges and road bumps in place because no-one said becoming a professional footballer is easy.
“Besides that, Cameron will be involved with the first-team alongside Michael and his staff. When players cross the building and go into the first-team environment, we will have an Academy face over there who players can trust. When players go into a first-team environment, we don’t want to stop their development – indeed, it has just started and we want to go harder.
“We want to be really creative and innovative with the HPPP; we will do live coaching on the pitch, while Cameron will stay longer with players on the pitch. We’re really excited about what that programme will look like.
“One thing that has been really clear is that we need to individualise. We have a really good programme in place, but teams don’t break through to the first-team, rather it’s individuals. We’ve made really clear that we need to have someone who can really take care and have that lens on individual player development.
“We wanted someone who can challenge coaches and decisions on which position and age group certain players can play; when he’s going to train and who he’s going to train with; and about when we accelerate or slow down.
"Being able to oversee and create an individual environment is a big part of creating the most exciting learning environment in sport.
“Exciting means that it’s different and innovative. The HPPP needs to be exciting and different. We’re going to travel with those players, put on extra sessions, and we want them to get under the eyes of the manager.
"The programme is something that is really exciting and fits exactly with what we want to do in terms of becoming the most exciting learning environment in sport.”
FIXTURES: Add both men's and women's season 2023/24 fixtures to your calendar HERE
SHOP: Shop the latest arrivals instore at the Rangers Store and online HERE
RANGERSTV: Get closer to your club with RangersTV subscription HERE
MYGERS: Enjoy exclusive experiences, discounts and events with a MyGers membership HERE