CALLUM Burnside was part of the first-team squad which travelled to Spain earlier this month for the side’s pre-season training camp, and the 19-year-old says he loved every minute of it.
The attacking midfielder was one of several Academy players selected by Derek McInnes after enjoying an impressive loan spell with Alloa Athletic last term.
Speaking to the official Rangers website, the Northern Irish youth international said: “It was amazing. I loved every minute of it.
“It was tough because it was roasting, but it was good to be involved in both the games and see what it’s like to be around the first-team.
“The standard of training is so high that everyone is demanding. No one is able to slack off at all.
“Especially watching them all from the bench and you can see how high the standard is.”
The first-team were bolstered in Spain by the return of its Scotland internationals, while several summer additions continued their early impressions with the club.
Burnside says it was a great environment to be involved in and was impressed by several on the training pitch.
He continued: “I thought when [Lawrence] Shankland came in that he would be quite vocal, and you could see in training that he’s a leader who has been there and done it.
“I felt like they got to know me a lot more and I got to know them, especially being in every day and training twice a day, at the pool, and at dinner.”
The teenager impressed hugely in his first loan spell in senior football last season in League One.
He ended the campaign as the club’s top goalscorer, earning individual recognition through several appearances in the SPFL Team of the Week.
It was everything he could have asked for in a loan spell, says the Northern Irishman, and he certainly relished the exposure to a senior environment.
He added: “It was massive, and I learned so much last year, both highs and lows and being both in and out of the team.
“We won play-off games, and we lost play-off games, finished fourth in the league. It was a great experience.
“I went to Alloa to score goals and try to help out the team, and I definitely thought I did that last season.
“I had a really good start to my loan, tailed off a little bit, then got an opportunity off the bench again.
“I came on, scored, and from then on I was back in the team and enjoying it. I needed to learn that, so I’m glad I learned it.
“It was such a tight group last season. The manager even said at the end of the season he couldn’t believe how tight the group got.
“There wasn’t one person left out, and it was amazing. In a way you actually wanted to be there early just to have that bit of craic, play darts, and have a laugh.”
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