Friday 13th January 2017
FOR a spell one April afternoon, there were two players who put Dumbarton’s ambition under threat on Survival Saturday.
One of them was Sam Stanton, whose goal put Livingston ahead at Queen of the South.
The other was Calum Gallagher, who opened the scoring for St Mirren at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.
Sons, of course, stayed up that afternoon. And with Stanton already having joined the club, Calum now has too.
The winger became the club’s latest January signing, joining from the Buddies after a year and a half in Paisley.
He’s gone from bottom of the Championship to, currently, a position of survival. It’s a chance he intends to make the most of.
He said: “I’m very excited. It’s been a tough season for me so I’m looking forward to getting things underway.
“Dumbarton obviously are in a good position at the moment and I hope I can contribute to keeping them there through to the end of the season.
“I hadn’t had much of an opportunity at St Mirren this season so I was quite keen to get a fresh start somewhere else. When I knew Dumbarton were interested I jumped at the chance.
“I’ve always been impressed by the club and how they are performing in the Championship. I’ve always found them tough to play against and I knew it was an opportunity I had to take.
“I didn’t think at the time of my goal that I’d be playing for Dumbarton nine months later! They do really well, being part-time up against full-time clubs. They have some really good players.
“Garry Fleming has done St Mirren out of a few points over the past few seasons, so it’s nice to be on the same side as him.
“I know quite a few of the guys from playing against them, and now I’m looking forward to getting in and working with them.”
Calum could barely ask for a higher-profile start to his Sons career, against league leaders Hibernian tomorrow. With no Premiership action, the spotlight is set to be on Dumbarton.
And having grown used to attention during his time with St Mirren and Rangers, Calum can’t wait.
He said: “I quite like the ‘baptism of fire’ starts, and playing against the league leaders will be a good opportunity to find my feet. Hopefully I will get a chance to show what I can do tomorrow.
“I’ve not put too much thought into what happens beyond my time at Dumbarton. I’m just going to enjoy my football and look to help them achieve their goal.
“I’ll re-assess my future at the end of the season, but I haven’t pulled on the jersey yet. That’s something I’m really looking forward to doing.
“I’m here to serve Dumbarton and it’s a great challenge for me.”
Andy Galloway