Raith legend Colin Cameron glad to be back - even if Rovers return took too long

Cameron, nicknamed Mickey, has been appointed as assistant manager, replacing Scott Agnew following his departure at the end of September after four months at the Kirkcaldy club.

That appointment brings with it a reunion with Rovers boss Ian Murray for the former Heart of Midlothian and Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder as the ex-Scotland internationals previously worked together at Airdrieonians.

Cameron, 50 this Sunday, was Murray’s assistant at the League 1 side too, from October 2019 until April 2020, his exit being part of a package of cost-cutting measures prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic all but wiping out clubs’ income at the time.

“It’s great to be back,” Cameron told Raith TV.

“I left way back in 1996 and I always thought I’d end up back here at some point, maybe not 26 years later, but better late than never.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be back, back where it all started, and hopefully I can be as successful this time around as I was the first time.”

The former Cowdenbeath and Berwick Rangers boss is also plased to be working with former Hibernian hero Murray again, saying: “The manager I worked with at Airdrie – that was the last place I worked, two-and-a-half years ago – and we spent five or six months together.

“Unfortunately it got cut short because of Covid but even in that five or six months we worked well together and I’m looking forward to working with him again.

“It’s a strange one considering we played at opposite sides of Edinburgh with Hibs and Hearts, but he wanted me to come in at Airdrie, and I had no hesitation in going there and joining him, and we just hit it off.

“We’ve got similar views but different ones as well.

“I’m there for him to bounce any ideas off and if I’ve got any ideas, he’s quite receptive to hearing them and implementing them if he sees fit and as an assistant, that’s what you’re there for, to help a manager along.

“If he’s looking for another opinion, then I’ll definitely give him it if I feel strongly enough about it.

“We worked well together and things were going well, but unfortunately for all of us, Covid came along and that changed everything.”

Kirkcaldy-born Cameron is also full of praise for one of Murray’s predecessors, former Manchester United defender Jimmy Nicholl, his first boss as a senior at Stark’s Park after two years there as a youth player, rating him among the managers he learned most from over the course of a 25-year playing career.

“With all the managers I’ve worked under, you learn things – some good, some bad,” he said.

“I always look at my first three managers that I worked with – Jimmy here at Raith Rovers, then Jim Jefferies at Hearts and Dave Jones down at Wolves. Those three guys had a big impact on my career and on my life.

“It’s no secret that I spent five years at each of their clubs for that reason, because I got on so well with the players and the management, and they’re the three guys that I mainly look towards to see how they dealt with situations when I was a player.

“All the good things I think ‘yeah, I’m going to keep that on board’ and all the other things, you just try not to get yourself into that situation, and that’s all down to experience.”

Cameron shares Murray’s conviction that his past and present club’s current squad are packed with potential and he’s intending do all he can to help them realise it.

“I’ve no doubts about my own ability as a coach to help bring players on,” he said.

“Before joining, I saw the team maybe three or four times this season,” he said.

“This season the home game against Cove Rangers was the first time I had a chance to go along, and obviously I picked a good game because, from start to finish, we controlled the game and could have scored a few more.

“We created a lot of chances, which is good, and scored three and it maybe could have been four or five, but you’ll take that, and a clean sheet, and I saw a lot of good things.

“I still saw room for improvement but there always is, and I think the manager would be the same. There are always things you can improve on.

“There’s a lot to work with there and a lot to look forward to, and I know there’ll be a lot of improvement to come from this set of players. It might not happen overnight – nothing does – but I certainly see us as a team that will improve as the season goes on.”

Being a former midfielder himself, Cameron says he’s particularly looking forward to helping out with that part of Raith’s game.

“They’re a good bunch of boys,” he said. “Looking at them, I’m thinking it would be nice to play in that midfield.

“Again I go back to the Cove game, with Brad Spencer and Scott Brown, if only I’d been playing in front of them like Sam Stanton did.

“Sam’s a totally different player to me. He’s got a lot more ability and a great talent. When I was at Cowdenbeath, I took him on loan there from Hibs as a kid and I could see the potential that was there, and it looks like he’s fulfilling it.

“You’ve also got Ross Matthews, who’s been at the club for a long time. Even when he first started, I thought he reminds me of me a little bit in terms of his tenacity and his will to win, and recently I’ve noticed he’s also been adding goals to his game, which is a pleasing thing.

“There’s good competition for places there.”