The unglamorous life of non-league football with a relegation battle thrown into the mix provided the perfect environment for Calum Macdonald to thrive while on loan.
In Macdonald’s first taste of playing senior football, he was thrust into the pressure cooker of fighting to beat the drop with National League side Barrow.
With the Derby County loanee on the pitch, the Bluebirds picked up points in 14 of their 20 games to boost their crusade.
The full-back even got on to the scoresheet with an extra time goal to pull level in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Wrexham.
That point proved vital as the fate of the Bluebirds boiled down to the final day of the season when just a point separated them from the final relegation spot.
Despite a 2-1 defeat to Chester, Barrow were gifted their survival by Dover who beat fellow strugglers Woking to condemn them to relegation instead.
Speaking to dcfc.co.uk, Macdonald said: “We managed it, not the way we wanted to, but to get there in the end was a massive achievement for the club.
“It was due to our work in the previous games to get us into the position we were in going into the last game to make that happen.”
The transition to a non-league club was a stark contrast for the 20-year-old from the luxuries provided at Derby County’s Training Centre. However, it was a challenge he welcomed.
He found himself largely left to his own devices. Though still based in Derby, Macdonald travelled to Rochdale to Barrow’s training base. There he was without some of the support that is readily available at Derby’s training facilities.
This proved to be a valuable learning experience for the young defender.
Macdonald said: “I didn’t really have any idea of what it was going to be like, I was just excited to see what it was about.
“At the start I was a bit unsure of what I needed to do because it is very different to Derby where you get stuff handed to you, so you need to pull your own weight more on loan.
“You spend a lot less time in the building, there’s a lot more games so you have to learn to manage yourself well after with, diet, recovery, etcetera.
“It was all down to me doing everything, I didn’t have someone to rely on to help me. That’s the sort of thing I think I’ve really got out of my loan.”
Macdonald has been a regular stand out player for the Rams’ academy and saw his contract extended at the club whilst out on loan.
As he eye’s his opportunity to break into Derby’s first-team, his experience at Barrow will prove invaluable.
“I really improved my game management,” Macdonald explained.
“I was physically dealing with people who are grown men, who are fully developed, strong players. I had to learn to work around and play against these players if I couldn’t mash them physically.”
He added: “It was also hard dealing with mistakes. In the Under-23s for example, you can make a mistake but still play well, that’s not the case when you are on loan.
“If you play well but make a mistake it is irrelevant how you played for the other 89 minutes, that mistake is the one thing people will focus on.
“That’s something you need adapt to, staying switched on for the whole game.”
Macdonald managed to pack his six-month spell full of lessons and experiences to help propel his career. Something he will always be grateful to Barrow for.
“I’ll always look out for them because that was my first club. I will always remember them.”
