MARK WARBURTON has been urged to give Cammy Bell every chance to resurrect his Rangers career as he possesses so much of what the Ibrox manager is looking for in a goalkeeper.

Bell made his first appearance of the season following knee trouble in a 2-1 Development League defeat to St Johnstone at Murray Park on Tuesday afternoon and expressed his desire to rival summer signing Wes Foderingham for the number one jersey at the Ladbrokes Championship club.

Warburton has brought in Polish goalkeeper Maciej Gostomski on a six-month contract to increase competition in that area of the squad, but Bell’s former manager Jimmy Calderwood hopes the Rangers manager will view the ex-Kilmarnock player’s return with an open mind.

Calderwood installed Bell as his first-choice keeper at Rugby Park during a brief spell in charge in 2010 and was a guest at Rangers’ training ground earlier this week to watch the 29-year-old successfully negotiate what was a milestone in his comeback.

He is convinced Bell still has a role to play at the Glasgow club and believes his technical ability with the ball at his feet should make him the kind of individual that Warburton, committed to building from the back and maintaining possession, naturally appreciates.

“When I first brought Cammy through at Kilmarnock, the thing that stuck out for me was just how brilliant he was with his feet,” said Calderwood.

“That fits in with the way Mark wants to play. We were of that opinion at Kilmarnock back then and the build-up always started with Cammy. He was capable of playing outside the box and that was the thing for me in deciding to go with him in the first-team.

“He could put the ball on a sixpence for you and it is important that your goalkeeper can do that in the modern game.

“The only slight question I had with Cammy related to his height, but he was wonderful for me. He still calls me ‘gaffer’ and we only spent a few months together at Rugby Park. He is a gem and I am chuffed to see him back.

“Of course, Wes Foderingham has done nothing wrong since coming in, but I am sure Mark will have a close look at him and give him a fair chance. I have met Mark a couple of times and I am sure he would take advice from all quarters before taking his decisions.

“If Cammy can get back to his previous standards, there is no question that he is a really, really good goalkeeper. He is a gem and I am chuffed to see him back.

“It is now a case of Cammy getting himself 100 per cent fit and showing what he is capable of.”

Calderwood reveals that Bell is also likely to have the Rangers goalkeeping coach, Jim Stewart, fighting his corner as he endeavours to show Warburton that he deserves a longer-term future at Ibrox.

“I was talking to big Jim on Tuesday and I know that he rates Cammy very highly,” he said.

“Foderingham has done really well and I know there is another goalkeeper in at the club now as well, but Jim thinks the world of him. That’s a big thing, although it all depends on the manager’s viewpoint and what Cammy wants to do himself.

“I don’t know how strongly the manager leans on big Jim, but he strikes me as the type of person who looks at everything and gives everything due consideration. He watches all the games at Rangers, keeps a close eye on everything that is going on and is very thorough and professional.

“I only talked to Cammy very briefly after the match on Tuesday, but he had a big smile on his face. I am delighted that he is back playing after such a long time out of action.

“I know he loves it at Rangers and he wants to stay, but, like everyone else, he wants to play. He has to look after himself.”

Bell’s last public appearance in Rangers colours prior to turning out for the Under-20s came in the second leg of last term’s Premiership play-off with Motherwell. He allowed a deflected effort from Marvin Johnson, which looped off the boot of Marius Zaliukas, to somehow beat him on the goal-line and then saw a shot from Lionel Ainsworth to go straight through him as the Lanarkshire club stormed to a 3-0 win on the day and a 6-1 triumph on aggregate.

It was a damaging afternoon for the one-time Scotland squad member, but Calderwood insists it need not define his career at Ibrox.

“Okay, we all know what happened with Cammy in the last game of the season, but everyone makes stupid mistakes at times and he is definitely strong enough to bounce back from that,” he stated.

“He has had injuries and we know what happened at Motherwell at the end of the season, but Cammy is a really strong character and a really, really good lad.

“I know he wants to stay at Rangers. If that is not to be the case, though, I am sure he will get a very good move.”