Callum will hit the goal trail for Wasps
Graeme Lafferty • Published 19 Jan 2013 09:30
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THE man who discovered Alloa new boy Calum Gallagher is convinced he will be a huge success at Recreation Park.
Gallagher has signed for the Wasps on loan from Glasgow Rangers until the end of the season and it was the club's head of youth development, Graeme Liveston, who first discovered the Rangers starlet.
Liveston spotted the young striker when he was a schoolboy and signed him up at Dundee United.
The Youth supremo is convinced the young striker is the man to aid Alloa in their promotion push this season and that Gallagher could be the natural goalscorer that Wasps boss Paul Hartley has been searching for.
Liveston told Advertiser Sport, "Hopefully he can bring goals to Alloa because he has always scored goals wherever he has been. He is a really hard working player alongside good technical skill levels so Ithink he is someone the fans will warm to. He has always had a wonderful eye for goal and he is top scorer for the Rangers Under 19s at the moment so I am sure he will make the step up no problem. I think working under Paul Hartley was one of the key factors for Calum and he realises that anyone of the manager's stature will add something to his game and help his development."
Liveston feels the 17-year-old is not just a goalscorer and in fact it was his use of the ball that first caught the eye even though he was a small winger when he first scouted the player.
Liveston said, "Calum was always a small lad as a youth but it was his intelligence with the ball that really caught my eye about him. If a player has that intelligence and can go past players then they can become even better once they grow a bit which has definitely been the case with Calum. He has always had the cleverness in his locker so once he has grown in height and build he has become a real player.
"He is a player who has a fantastic attitude and he gives 100% all the time and it is always good to work with players like that. I first discovered Calum when he was under 14 and we took him into Dundee United. He eventually left because of transport issues and to focus on his academic work which he did. He was always very focused and grounded lad but then when I went to Rangers I got him into to one of my soccer schools at Toryglen and he has just blossomed from there. I had no hesitation about signing him again because I knew he would be a big success at Rangers."
The big hope for his former mentor is that Gallagher can benefit from working alongside some of the more experienced professionals at Recreation Park and that will help him play a vital role for the club in his time in Clackmannanshire.
Liveston added, "He has definitely improved as a player since I last worked with him there is no doubt about that. He is a lot stronger and you need a bit of strength on the ball. I think he will learn a lot here from the likes of Martin Grehan with his experience. Calum also will get a lot of supply from the likes of Ryan McCord and Graeme Holmes in the midfield so he will get plenty of goalscoring chances and I am quite confident he will do well. I hope Calum can be the natural goalscorer that Paul has been craving and you always want to see youngsters come in and impress when they come in on loan."
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