LYALL Cameron has admitted he would love to follow in the footsteps of his former Dundee midfield partner Luke McCowan and win a move to a major club like Celtic or Rangers in future.

Scotland Under-21 internationalist Cameron was outstanding for the Dens Park outfit in the middle of the park in their Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox on Saturday evening.   

Th 21-year-old might not have been able to prevent Tony Docherty’s team from losing 3-0 to Philippe Clement’s side in the last eight tie and exiting the competition – but he was arguably the best player on the pitch during the course of the 90 minutes.

Cameron acknowledged that it had been difficult to adjust to life without McCowan, who completed a £1m move to his boyhood heroes Celtic in the final hours of the transfer window last month, since the international break.  

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However, he expressed hope that Dundee can get back to winning ways once the new recruits who Docherty has strengthened his squad with settle in to their new surroundings.

"It is hard [playing without McCowan next to him] to be honest because I think we built a really good relationship in the middle of the pitch,” he said.

"We knew where each other was and obviously he came up with big moments and so did I. So I think we just got on really well and knew what the other person was going to do. Obviously losing him at that time of the season was tough.

“But I think we brought in some good players. Hopefully once they find their feet in the team and understand the league they'll do well. We've brought in a lot of boys who haven't really played in this league. You do need the experience of playing in the Premiership.

“I've played here a couple of years now. I know I'm only 21, but I'm one of the more experienced guys in the team. I think once everyone finds their feet and we start understanding each other I think we'll be okay.

“Obviously we've got a lot of good players on the team, a lot of people work hard and stuff. But I'm trying to take on more responsibility this year and trying to do as well as I can for the team and get as many positive results as possible."

(Image: PA) Asked if he believed he could one a big move like McCowan one day, Cameron said: "Yeah, 100 per cent. I'm really confident in my own abilities and I think I could play in a bigger team.

"Obviously, when you go to places like Ibrox, you just wish you could get a move to a team like that. It would be huge for your career. So hopefully one day I can go on to do that."

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Cameron was disappointed that Dundee were unable to convert any of the scoring chances they created against Rangers on Saturday night and book a place at Hampden and stressed he would like the Tayside club to start competing with their Glasgow rivals on a regular basis.

 “We've proved a couple of times against Rangers that we can compete,” he said. “On Saturday night we had chances. It's hard for a club like us to compete with Celtic and Rangers. 

"But I think the way we're looking and the way the club's going, that's what we need to start doing if we want to start pushing to get to Hampden. Obviously, the club's not been there for a long time. If you want to get to Hampden and play in the big games, you need to beat the likes of Celtic and Rangers."