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Rangers Academy midfielder Alex Smith is enjoying a positive loan spell with Dumbarton and says he will return to the Light Blues a better player for the experience.
The 17-year-old Scottish youth international joined The Sons in February and has featured regularly for the League Two side ever since.
He has already trained with Danny Rohl’s first-team squad and was on the bench for January’s Europa League game against Porto.
Smith – a dynamic, forward-thinking player – was delighted to gain that experience so early in his career and he is vowing to work as hard as he possibly can to earn more chances with the senior side.
Speaking as he showed his support for The Rangers Youth Development Company – who donated another £300,000 to the Academy in February, making it more than £12.5 million since 2002 – Alex said: “Going to Dumbarton has been really good for me.
“It’s all great experience and I’m learning so much by playing in competitive games.
“I wanted to go out and get games under my belt as soon as possible and it’s all valuable experience that I think I needed.
“I just need to use that experience to improve and try and get to the Rangers first-team.
“It’s a different type of football to youth games here and you have to get used to playing in front of fans. It’s s a big difference but it’s something that I’ve enjoyed.
“They spur me on and have helped me play better so I like it.
“There are also a lot of experienced players at Dumbarton who have taken me under their wing. They give me good tips and advice and I have enjoyed it so far.
“I usually train with Rangers on a Monday and Friday and with Dumbarton on Tuesday and Thursday nights then have the game at the weekend so I am learning every day.
“It has been a good start to 2026 for me as I was also on the bench for Rangers for the Porto game.
“Going away with the squad was brilliant.
“I could see what it was like on a big match day and experience the build-up and I got a real feel for it.
“It was definitely a really good experience for me to be named on the bench for the game as well.
“It will benefit me in the future and everybody was really welcoming. I found out quite late on I was going to travel for the game so there was no time to be nervous.
“It was obviously really exciting for me and my family when I found out.
“You work hard for so long to try and get into the first-team squad and it paid off for me when I was told to go.
“It was also great to work with Steven Smith again who is now with the first-team.
“I’ve worked with a lot of good coaches at Rangers and Steven has been a big influence on me.
“He’s obviously been through it all here and been in the first-team so learning from him is very good for me.
“I will keep working hard on my game and listen to people like him. It’s all great experience for me.
“When you train with the first-team, it’s definitely a lot faster.
“The players are stronger but you have to be able to adapt to that.
“There are a lot of good players my age at Rangers so you have to try and stand out.
“Rangers is one of the biggest clubs in Scotland, so you will always be playing and training against the best players and I am so happy to be here.
“My family are all Rangers supporters so it was great for them when I joined when I was 8.
“I was scouted when I was playing for my local boys’ team and joined Rangers.
“It was a great moment when I came through the blue gates for the first time and you still get that buzz every day.
“It was also great to get a call up to Scotland’s under-19 squad recently.
“That was my first time with them and I scored against Poland so it was a successful camp for me, Aiden McCallion and Rydnn McGuire.
“It was good to have boys in the squad that you know from here.
“We all want to work hard and make it to the Rangers first-team and follow in the footsteps of players like Findlay Curtis who have done it recently.
“Findlay is somebody to look up to and you can see the pathway is there.
“He’s done well here and at Kilmarnock on loan and now he has played for Scotland.
“So, I will keep working as hard as I can and hopefully finish the season strongly with Dumbarton, come back here for pre-season and try and push as hard as I can to make it to the first-team.
“If you get the chance you need to try and take it.”
Alex’s career development is assisted by annual RYDC donations to the Rangers Academy and more than £12.5 million has already been provided.
Profit from our online store and products like Rangers Lotto, Stadium Bricks and The Union Jackpot draw all go to the Academy, while profit from Museum Lotto is donated to the club for the upkeep and maintenance of the Rangers Museum.
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