AL KELLOCK had to get used to working in the shadows as Glasgow stepped into the spotlight.

The inspirational Warriors captain endured months of frustration, standing idle on the side of a training pitch as the Scotstoun side surged up the Pro12 table on the crest of an unbeaten run.

Kellock had injured an arm in a Heineken Cup game against Cardiff Blues in December. He needed surgery to repair the damage and that meant he missed a crucial part of Glasgow's Pro12 season and the whole of Scotland's Six Nations campaign.

He returned in April to help Glasgow to victory over Edinburgh in the 1872 Cup and then led them to their first Pro12 play-off final - which ended in defeat to Leinster.

Within days, however, he was back in hospital, this time for an operation on a long-standing shoulder problem.

But with his trademark determination and optimism, Bishopbriggs-born Kellock can see a positive side to his recent injury woes.

"It was really tough. You are always trying to learn, and I learned a lot of lessons last year about what it was to lead," he told SportTimes.

"I found out how difficult it is to be a leader when you can't make it on to a training park let alone a pitch. It was hard. But the one positive was that the team was doing so well.

"When you are injured you want to get back as quickly as possible. That was a big focus.

"Ultimately, it was a good experience for me, it has to be. You need to use these difficulties to make you better and stronger for the future.

"It is also important to take yourself away from it all at times. For the guys who are injured long-term, getting out and doing something not related to rugby is vital. For me that was work experience.

"I went out with a few different companies, including our commercial department, and I was able to switch off and not think 'I'm injured'.

"If that's all you do and you get a setback - which ultimately comes - it makes it harder to deal with. It's all about learning."

Kellock's body may have been absent for spells but the spirit of the Scotland international was evident in a landmark season for Warriors.

Fresh off the back of two straight play-off semi-finals, the Scotstoun club under Gregor Townsend went one step further last time out.

That feat is a clear source of pride for the Glasgow lock, who will hopefully return to captain his team for the ninth consecutive year.

But even though Warriors stand on the brink of a new season with a fresh sense of expectation weighted on their shoulders, Kellock is keen to stress their emergence in the Pro12 is not down to a one-hit wonder season, but more of a back catalogue of hard graft.

He said: "It's been a slow build. Our progress has been over a number of years. We keep improving, we have reached a few semi-finals and to get a home semi last year was massive, it helped us make it to the final.

"Initially the only emotion you feel after losing a final is disappointment, but later you take a step back and look at the success on and off the park. You realise then just how good a season it was.

"But it was no quick, X Factor moment, it's all about hard work."

That effort shows no signs of subsiding with champions Leinster providing the opposition at Scotstoun tomorrow in the first match of the new Guinness Pro12 season.

Kellock is hopeful of another prosperous campaign.

The 33-year-old said: "The first game of the season, and where we were last year and where we want to be this year, is all we are thinking about.

"The guys who are lucky enough to run out will be very motivated and determined to do well. It's an ambition, but to win the league you need to be in the right position all the way through.

"You need to make sure firstly that you get into the play-offs and I believe that is getting harder each year.

"Even though we did well last season we must continue to be better."