The 29-year-old continued his return from a lengthy injury lay-off by netting a terrific goal in the side’s triumph, helping guide a young Gers side to an excellent victory.
Speaking to RangersTV after the victory, McCallum commented: “It was an interesting game for us for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was a different type of game than we’ve faced this season with a mixture of a squad from Hamilton, with some fringe players and more younger ones on the pitch as well.
“Our squad was a little bit different as well. We had Tom Lawrence in there and it was important for him to get into a game environment, and the manager was keen for him to get minutes as well. You also have some players who have been close with the first-team group over the last year, Leon King, Adam Devine and Cole McKinnon. It was a more experienced type B Team squad that we’ve perhaps had in previous games, so that in itself was good.
“Tom was excellent around the group, sharing his experience, and we spoke before the game about that. That’s what some of these games are going to be about, when we get the odd occasion where a player, or two, drops down from the first-team squad to get important minutes.
“That’s how we need to look at it, that these are important minutes for these players because ultimately this group is to facilitate the moments and opportunities so these guys are ready to go when the manager needs them.”
The Light Blues fell behind twice in the contest, rallying in the second half to score three times through Lawrence, Ross McCausland and Cole McKinnon who found himself on the scoresheet twice.
McCallum added: “The game itself really fluctuated. There were moments that we enjoyed and some moments where we could do better. We probably lacked a little bit of purpose in the first half for all our possession, but we didn’t ask enough questions of Hamilton and didn’t attack their penalty box as much. We spoke about that at half-time and I thought we were better on that front in the second half.
“Goals naturally impact emotions at times, and sometimes it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re playing poorly. I thought our three goals in the second half were fantastic. You look at Tom’s individual goal where he goes and puts the ball in the top corner after a bit of individual play, and then two crosses from Robbie Fraser which were right on the money for Ross McCausland and Cole McKinnon.
“We had some really good moments, but also moments where we need to hold ourselves accountable to the standards and levels that we want to be at consistently.”
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