WHEN COLIN Cameron and Alex Rae patrolled the same midfield there was little occasion for diplomacy. A couple of guys with a winning mentality, even as team-mates their desire for success suppressed any notions of on-field tact.
That was at Wolves and their attitude was rewarded with promotion into the Premier League.
Now, more than five years on from that promotion season, they have joined forces again. But Cameron knows he will probably have to bite his tongue a bit mor
e now.
This time Rae is the boss, Cameron one of his summer signings at Dundee. But it is hoped the combination can reap the same rewards as it did at Moulineux.
"I am one of the experienced players in the Dundee squad so I do get to have my say, but yeah, we had our tiffs on the pitch because we wanted to win so badly, but it was the same with Paul Ince. He was in the midfield with us and there were times when we all had a few words with each other," he says.
Yet last July, he followed Ince to League Two side MK Dons, turning down the opportunity to return to the SPL instead. The combination earned Cameron the opportunity to play at Wembley, and the club won the Football League Trophy and an elevation into League One.
"I did think about whether it would be difficult playing for Paul because we had been team-mates and had had our moments but we got on so well and everything went so well. You see people as players and you get an idea of what they will be like as managers but the good thing is Paul, Alex and myself liked to win, so I'm hoping I can now have the same success at Dundee with Alex that I had at Milton Keynes with Paul.
"I can give my point of view and try to point some of the younger players in the right direction. I like that extra responsibility. I think I thrive on it.
"But so far I have been impressed and I think we could do well this season. I still think we could use a few more signings. We have good players but we need players of the same quality on the bench. That's my opinion but, if you ask Alex, I'm sure he'd agree with me," adds Cameron.
Truth be told, he would still be in England preparing for the start of the new League One season had the contract offer he had been discussing with Ince not been withdrawn when the gaffer left for his new post at Blackburn. That's when his nomadic summer started as he touted his talents at various training grounds, looking for his next employer.
There were opportunities elsewhere, notably in Nottingham and at his home town club Raith Rovers, but Dundee offered him the chance to strive for something. Aged 35, he doesn't like to think his medal-winning days are behind him.
"If people think I've come to Dundee to see out my career gently they are very much mistaken," says the former cup-winner with Raith Rovers and Hearts. "I have come to Dundee to get them back into the SPL.
"Other than Coventry (where he spent less than a year and was granted just 18 starts] I have won something with every club I've been at and I would like to think that can continue. Because Alex is a friend and he'd tried to sign me last summer, I kept an eye on how Dundee were doing last season and they pushed Hamilton up to the last few games."
His one-year contract has the option of another year, depending on how many times he plays, but he says he is happy with that arrangement, confident enough in his own ability and fitness to feature prominently. If it pans out, it would give him another tilt at the top flight next season.
There is also the lure of some coaching involvement. Good friends with Paul Ritchie, who takes the Dundee U-19s, he has also spoken to Rae about helping out in training sessions.
"We have discussed it but first I have to concentrate on getting myself and my family settled and getting the season under way and then we can look at that. I'm back at my parents' in Kirkcaldy just now but we will be renting a place in Carnoustie. The good thing about that is that it's only 20 minutes to training every day. I've done the long travelling times for long enough."
The downside is being away from his daughter from his previous relationship. She will continue to live down south with her mother and rather than visits every second weekend, get-togethers will be less frequent.
"She has been OK about it and we have her up here this weekend, which is great. That was the hardest part about my decision to come back to Scotland. But life is like football – there's always ups and downs and twists and turns."
And, as he says, it's not just a case of going out to pasture. He has returned with a clear goal in mind.
The full article contains 875 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
