The Light Blues tasted defeat in a game which was played over three 35-minute periods, although there were plenty of positive aspects for the team to reflect upon.
Speaking to RangersTV after the game, McCallum said: “As first games go in terms of the programme that we’ve put in place this season, it’s as challenging as it’s going to get. We’ve just played against a Belgian top-tier first-team who finished 10th above teams such as Anderlecht, and for 70 minutes we were really competitive.
“The game was longer than normal. The OH Leuven coach contacted us last night asking if we could extend the game time so they could get more minutes on the pitch for their players, so we helped as best as we could with that. We started to flag a little bit in the latter stages, and that’s normal against that level of opposition.
“However, it was really enjoyable for long spells. We scored a brilliant goal, and we had one or two really good moments beyond that as well when the score was tight that we could have taken advantage of.
“Obviously, we had moments where we had to defend as well, but we expected that against a top level team. I’m never going to say that we should be pleased with losing a game of football, but as far as the context of the game, level of the opposition, and how compact we looked, I’m quite pleased.”
Although there were plenty of encouraging moments throughout the 105 minutes, McCallum also believes that it was a hugely beneficial learning curve for his young players about how to operate at first-team level.
He added: “There’s probably two big lessons for us. Clearly, we had good spells and big moments where we created some nice opportunities, but I felt there were technical moments that were avoidable and needless turnovers that put us under pressure.
“The other part is that, as much as we talk about trying to pick the moments to go put pressure and trap the opposition into certain areas of the pitch, I thought there were moments where we could have made a tackle, stopped the game or perhaps made a foul.
“This is a level of opposition where if you don’t get that right in certain moments, you need to cover bigger distances, expend more energy and, ultimately as the game develops, naturally you run out of steam a little bit. That will be as tough a game as we will face this season.
“We talk about the speed that a first-team moves the ball, you can hear it and see it, and that was the case with OH Leuven. We see it when our boys go round to train with the first-team. You need to train at that level so you can be exposed to it and cope with it when you’re faced with that scenario.
“That was today’s game. For 105 minutes we faced a team who slapped the ball, try to bring it into spaces to escape and, if you didn’t get the contact right at certain times, you had to run more.
“I’m pleased with a lot of individuals and what we did from a group perspective, but there’s a lot of individual learning as well. We’ll select certain players and units who we will go and speak with, but what I hope off the back of that game is that players come to us and want to speak to us about improving.”
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