Former Rangers 'keeper on moment that "killed" his career - and who he thinks should be No.1 at Ibrox

Cammy Bell at the Hampden launch of the Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 tournament (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The clip has been viewed over 250,000 times since the official Motherwell FC account posted footage of the second leg of their play-off tie five years ago. Every year, on what’s become known as “Cammy Bell day”, it gets re-shared.

Last month, on 31 May, there was particular interest. It was the 10th anniversary of the day in question, when Bell punched a deflected shot from Marvin Johnson into his own net, with Rangers going on to lose their Premiership play-off final against Motherwell in embarrassingly comprehensive fashion.

As ever, there’s some context behind the story that tends to be forgotten. Bell was about to get married but he can’t pretend that is why he momentarily lost the flight of the ball on that grisly Sunday afternoon. A more credible explanation is the knee injury diagnosis that he was being forced to manage at the time.

Rangers 'keeper Cammy Bell can't believe he has failed to stop a deflected, looping shot from Motherwell's Marvin Johnson in the second leg of their Premiership play-off final in 2015

"It was difficult in my situation because the Motherwell game I actually played with an injury,” recalls Bell, who is now a pundit as well as running a glamping business in Dumfries and Galloway. “I needed an operation, so it was a double dunter for me in terms of the next season. I’d made a mistake and needed an op.

“These are the things that people aren’t aware of. I played the Motherwell game while needing injections to get through that game. I had a microfracture in my knee. It was about August before I actually got the operation and then faced a six-month long rehab.”

By this time, of course, he’d firmly lost his place. Wes Foderingham had been signed from Swindon Town. The next time he played at first team game it was the beginning of the following season – for Dundee United. Recovery from the operation had obviously been an issue but he also knew it was a long way back when it came to regaining the trust of Rangers fans. He never made it back.

“Really, when I reflect now, did it kill my Rangers career? It absolutely did,” he says. “And it was just the fact that I didn't have the opportunity to go straight back in and play a game. Wes came in and was a fantastic goalie for Rangers.”

Despite some high-profile mistakes, Jack Butland had been backed to claim the Rangers No.1 shirt back (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Why all this is relevant again now is that the Ibrox side are again at a crossroads when it comes to ‘keepers. Although then Rangers manager Mark Warburton’s hand was forced due to Bell’s injury, he knew he needed a quality challenger for the No 1 position, hence Foderingham’s recruitment.

Current manager Russell Martin, meanwhile, has inherited an intriguing dilemma. Who is the No.1 at Rangers? Jack Butland or Liam Kelly? Or is it a case of recruiting someone else entirely? Butland is of course the higher earner and the one who might be expected to be the first choice. However, faith in him has been shaken by a series of high-profile mistakes. This eventually led to interim manager Barry Ferguson replacing him with Kelly, who finished the season in possession of the goalkeeper’s jersey. Ferguson is no longer in such a position of power so Kelly will know that both ‘keepers start with a clean sheet under Martin.

But impressing the new manager – or head coach – is one thing. The fans are another. Have they already made up their minds with regards to Butland? He was dropped after Dylan Levitt’s effort from the edge of the box squirmed underneath him in the 2-0 defeat to Hibs at the start of April. A week earlier he had spilt a header from Joe Shaugnessy, with the Dundee skipper duly sweeping in the rebound.

Bell can empathise although at least Butland is currently fit and has a chance to rectify the situation, something he was denied. “Jack Butland’s in a different scenario,” he says. “Yes, he's made a few mistakes, of course he has and he knows that himself. But he's got the opportunity to work hard pre-season, become Russell Martin's No.1 and prove to Rangers fans that he's good enough.”

“It’s massively difficult,” he adds. “You’re always reminded of those moments. Jack Butland will have that too. As a person, he needs to get over it and I'm pretty sure he has. He recognises he had a difficult season last season and that's probably the most important thing – that he knows that that's happened.

“It's about how he rectifies that, how he gets back to the training ground and works hard. The only way he can turn it around is by getting back in the team and playing games because that's how you restore faith in a person. It's by getting back in the team, being consistent again.

“Because we know he can do it. He's just had a bad period and I always think as a goalkeeper when you go through that rut, it generally comes in two threes and fours. We've seen it with Allan McGregor in his last season. He had a lot of mistakes and there were question marks over him. But again, he's got big broad shoulders and he got on with it and he made some incredible European displays that season.”

“I think Jack Butland will be working really hard this summer because he'll want to be Rangers No.1. He'll want to start the season well. He's got a new opportunity with a new manager as well. It’s a big summer for him.”

For what it’s worth, Bell believes Butland should be reinstated as No 1, although he will have to prove he is worth it in pre-season. “At this moment in time, yeah,” he says. “Unless there's a different option that comes in and somebody that's more suited to Russell Martin's style. But as a goalkeeper, making big saves, I think Jack Butland’s got all the tools to do it.”

Cammy Bell was launching the Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 tournament on Sunday 29 June at Toryglen Regional Football Centre. The event celebrates the diversity of communities in Scotland through football while standing up for the rights of refugees.