Dick Campbell’s reign as Arbroath manager lasted seven years, eight months and 18 days.
In that time, the vastly experienced boss ticked off achievement after achievement and raised the club’s profile exponentially.
Arbroath are now an established Championship club and are in their fifth successive season in Scottish football’s second tier.
Under Campbell they won two titles, flirted with promotion to the Scottish Premiership and watched Gayfield crowds treble.
Arbroath’s success story is not Campbell’s alone. An ambitious board, supportive fan base and hard-working staff have propelled Arbroath to new heights.
But after Saturday’s 2-1 Scottish Cup loss to Spartans made it six defeats in seven games, Campbell quit, taking his staff, led by twin brother Ian, with him.
Life after Dick, who turned 70 last week, will certainly feel strange at Arbroath.
But he will go down as a Lichties legend – and Courier Sport has picked out six reasons why.
Winning the League Two title in 2017
Dick Campbell has never been a man to give up lightly and his never-say-die attitude proved crucial to his first title win.
A 1-0 home loss to title rivals Forfar saw them slip 11 points behind their Angus neighbours in February 2017.
Forfar players celebrated with gusto at full-time, believing the league crown was within their grasp.
But moments after the game, Campbell declared his side were still in the race and vowed to keep on fighting.
After talking the talk, he walked the walk and led Arbroath to trophy success with a final day draw at sun-kissed Stirling Albion.
Promotion to the Championship in 2019
Arbroath didn’t stay long in League One.
They reached the play-offs in their first year up, then blitzed rivals Forfar and Raith Rovers in their cruise to the title.
A 1-0 win over Rovers in February 2019 saw them go 16 points clear at the top and coined the song ‘Hammy won the league at Stark’s Park’.
Campbell even joined in the celebrations of that goal as he took his seat in the away end with the fans.
He held his nerve to lead his side to the Championship and declared part-time Arbroath would have a real go at their full-time rivals in the second tier, saying: “If we go doon, we go doon.”
Dreaming of the Scottish Premiership
Arbroath’s stock under Dick Campbell was never higher than in season 2021/22.
They led the Scottish Championship for several months and even made it onto BBC’s Match of the Day for a short feature film entitled ‘Miracles.’
With Campbell in-demand for podcasts and TV interviews across the UK, it seemed like he was about to celebrate his finest moment in 30-odd years of coaching.
They were 12 minutes from winning the Championship before Ash Taylor and Blair Alston netted for rivals Kilmarnock to kill off their dream.
Campbell was left devastated by the loss. Surrounded by his players and coaching staff on the Rugby Park turf at full-time, he fell short of a real life miracle.
However, Arbroath’s rise to the brink of the Scottish Premiership was a remarkable achievement in itself.
Dick Campbell the entertainer
Dick Campbell is one of the few managers in Scottish football to inspire a social media tribute account.
‘No Context Dick Campbell’ on X, formerly Twitter, shares soundbites and one-liners from his interviews. Campbell has a wicked sense of humour and is a popular after-dinner speaker.
— No Context Dick Campbell (@ContextDick) January 28, 2023
He also found viral fame when an advertising board fell on him during a pre-match interview with Arbroath TV in 2021.
That featured on the credits for popular BBC series A View From the Terrace and perfectly sums up the fun-loving Campbell Arbroath fans got to know so well during his seven years at the club.
A date with the royals, as Dick Campbell becomes a BEM
Earlier this year, Dick Campbell was awarded a BEM for services to football and the community in Angus.
Not only was he praised for masterminding Arbroath’s success on the field, but also for galvanising support for the club off the park.
Assisted by an ambitious board and a thriving commercial department, community-focused Arbroath are a club transformed.
Turnover last year trebled to £1.88million, they had record replica kit sales of 2,300 and sold 1,500 season tickets last year.
Campbell’s part in the Gayfield revolution cannot be overstated. He said: “We have such incredible links to the local community and have ignited a fire inside of the town that won’t go out.
“The club has grown beyond all expectation over the last few years and it will continue to grow.”
Five successive seasons in the Scottish Championship
By his own admission, last season was a very poor one for Arbroath.
But again, his never-say-die attitude came to the fore as he somehow steered them to safety.
That sealed a fifth successive season in the Scottish Championship and he leaves Arbroath with a fighting chance of making it six.
What next for Dick Campbell?
It’s hard to imagine at 70 that Dick Campbell isn’t seriously considering retirement.
But for a man who coined the phrase: “Saturday’s fitba day,” Dick will miss the game terribly.
A football nut, Campbell will watch any game, any place at any time.
Will watching be enough though? Will a club take the plunge and make him their boss?
Time will tell, but don’t rule out one final spell in the dugout before he hangs up his bunnet for good.
Conversation