The footballing gods can be real mischief makers.

Every now and then a player cast aside comes back to haunt his releaser.

Enter David Cameron.

The sense of irony will be felt even more keenly than usual in the away dugout at Sincil Bank, Lincoln, on Saturday if the former soldier shoots down the Seagulls.

Assuming you never read this organ, listen to a radio or watch TV, you may not be aware that Cameron was the misfiring forward branded "useless" by Albion assistant Alan Cork.

Cork's remark, after manager Micky Adams had substituted the big Scot just 20 minutes into a defeat at Hull in February, ignited an almighty rumpus.

Fans were angered by such a public humiliation of the man signed by Adams a few months earlier from St Mirren on the recommendation of a scout.

Adams was unrepentant. He had instructed Cork to lambast a player he described as a "destructive influence" in the dressing room.

Adams pledged Cameron would never play in the first team again. He was true to his word.

The Board were as unhappy as some supporters at Adams' handling of the affair and told him so.

Nobody would have batted an eyelid if Cameron, goalless in eight starts and 14 substitute appearances for the first team, had been left to rot in the reserves.

Adams subsequently admitted to fans: "It was handled poorly and I regret it. It was a throwaway comment I gave Alan after the game when I was furious and upset at the way we had played."

But Adams would also argue to this day that, to a certain extent, the end justified the means.

One alleged breach of club discipline by Cameron, serious enough to put a rather different slant on the soap opera, has remained private.

Having paid £1,400 to buy himself out of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders for his move to the south coast, Cameron departed in March by mutual consent with his tail between his legs and 15 months remaining on his contract. He signed for Saturday's hosts in the summer following a successful spell with Worthing.

Cameron caught the eye of Lincoln boss Phil Stant, himself an ex-soldier and striker, when the teams drew 2-2 at Withdean last November.

Cameron's picture filled the front cover of the Albion programme the following Saturday, accompanied by the words "The Big Gun's Arrived!"

He has been firing blanks so far for his new employers and refuses to give interviews to the local media following his "bad experience" with the Seagulls.

Preferred to Lincoln's record signing Tony Battersby in the injury absence of last season's top scorer Lee Thorpe, Cameron was substituted midway through the second half of his debut in the 2-0 home defeat by Hartlepool.

The same thing happened in last Saturday's 1-1 draw at Halifax, although Stant, a 37-year-old veteran of 11 clubs, said: "David did a great job. He is one of those lads who has a smashing attitude.

"I can't get him off the training ground and he even wants to play for the reserves.

"But he is very raw after being out of the game for quite a long while.

"He has done six weeks training and we won't see the best of him for two or three months.

"He's not far off match fitness, but there are times when you have got to look after the lad, pull him off and give him a breather, because he tires.

"But he is going to be a big plus for us this season."

Lincoln's confidence won't be high after their 6-1 thrashing by Sheffield United in the Worthington Cup on Tuesday.

But Cameron will need no motivating to ram Corky's word down his throat. Should he score the winner against Albion he will regard his rehabilitation as complete.

If he is substituted yet again, Adams will allow himself a wry smile.