He won’t scale the heights of Andy Robertson.
But Declan Gallagher has every right to be regarded as another life after Celtic success story.
Like the Champions League and Premier League winner with Liverpool, the Motherwell centre-back has become a Scotland international after being released by the Hoops early in his football career.
Dundee helped Gallagher along the way and now he feels like an established part of Steve Clarke’s set-up.
“I think a year ago it was a big surprise and I’ve said before that I thought it might be a hoax, but I think I’ve settled in well,” he said. “This is my fourth camp now and the boys have all made me feel welcome. It feels like a family here when you go away with all the boys.”
As was the case with Robertson, Gallagher didn’t lose faith when he was told there wasn’t a future for him at Parkhead.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, then you can’t expect anyone else to believe in you,” he said.
“When I went down to Clyde from Celtic, I went from full-time football to part-time and I put all my dedication into it.
“My dad basically told me that he would pay for all my gym memberships and the likes, and told me that I had to train like a full-time player and try to get myself back to full-time football.
“And that’s what I did. I pushed hard, I worked hard and with dedication and with managers like Jim Duffy at Clyde, I got there. Jim was great for me. He told me if I did well for him, he would help me get back into full-time football and that’s exactly what happened when I went from Clyde to Dundee.”
Robertson may have been part of a heavy Liverpool defeat at the weekend but his status in the Scotland camp is unbreakable.
“Look where he is now,” said Gallagher. “He’s a Champions League winner, playing for the best team in England.
“He was at Queen’s Park and then Dundee United, so he has experienced life at the bottom of Scottish football and is now at the top of European football, so I think everybody can inspiration from him – even myself, at the age of 29.
“I can take inspiration from him and just see that if you keep working hard and have dedication that you can go right to the top.”
