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Rangers under-17s coach Malky Thomson is delighted with the start his group has made to the campaign and says a number of players have already stepped up to the 19s and looked at home there.
The squad is bursting with eager, hungry and talented school-age players who balance their on-pitch development with education and they are top of the CAS Elite Under-17 League table.
Midfield pair Kyle Glasgow and Luca Rankin and left-back Ashton Scally have already trained with the first-team squad this season but Thomson says there are many more who are progressing positively through the club’s youth ranks.
Defender Conor Owen, who signed his first professional contract with Rangers in August, captains the squad and is a real leader in the dressing room.
Forward players Chris Condy, who scored a hat-trick in last Friday’s 5-2 win at Dundee Utd, and Coben Fergusson and midfielder Aiden Crilly have also caught the eye this term.
Academy staff and the youth players themselves have created a positive working environment at the training ground and there are undoubtedly encouraging signs for the future.
Thomson, who has been associated with Rangers for more than two decades, is loving his current role at the club and is encouraged by the development he sees within his group
He told rydc.co.uk: “We’ve put together a team that really complements each other, on and off the park.
“Although they’re still at school, they’re quite a mature group and I think the competition level below and above them is driving them on.
“We’re managing the group in a way where everybody feels valued and everybody’s got a contribution to make when they come in here.
“They want to be here and they all want to contribute.
“We are preparing them for a career in football and we hope it can be at Rangers.
“It’s not easy to break into the first-team here and it shouldn’t be.
“It has to be earned and they all have to work as hard as they can every day here.
“We are always honest and up front with the boys and we treat them like adults. We know they will make mistakes, but we’re there to correct them should we need to.
“They have everything they need to progress and we have an army of staff who all play their part.
“Everything from Player Welfare to Sports Science to Education to Strength Conditioning, you name it, it’s there for these players and the boys are buying into it.
“They all want to make it at Rangers and we have a good coaching team supporting them with guys like Greg Statt, who has worked with a number of age groups, and James Wood, who looks after the goalies.
“We have seen the likes of Kyle Glasgow, Ashton Scally, Luca Rankin, Calum Adamson, Rydnn McGuire and Lewis Stewart training with the first-team squad.
“They all want to do that and the one’s that haven’t managed it yet are jealous. It drives them on.
“That competitive nature has got to be in them. We’re a team and we’re all at Rangers Football Club together but there’s competition within the ranks.
“The staff work hard to give these boys the best chance they can to progress and when you see players like Findlay Curtis in the first-team we are all proud.
“A lot of players who have been at the Rangers Academy have enjoyed good careers. Stephen Kelly, who is now playing in America, Danny Wilson and Danny Finlayson at Livingston, Lewis Mayo at Kilmarnock, Craig Halkett at Hearts to name a few.
“Rangers were pivotal in getting them to where they are right now so they’ve added value to the league and I think sometimes that is forgotten.
“When I see these guys making their debuts or going round training with the senior squad for the first time it excites me and the other staff members who have helped them develop.
“I’ve already mentioned Greg Statt and James Wood but the list goes on and we have Tara Harvey our physio and coaches like Alan Boyd and Lewis Macleod, who had a top-class playing career.
“Players are certainly developing but coaches are also developing here and it is great to see Stevie Smith working with the first-team.
“His Rangers journey is an inspiration to our young players too – as an Academy graduate who played for Rangers and an Academy coach who is working with Danny Rohl’s team.
“Not everybody will play with Rangers but I think the journey you get here, the education you get here, the apprenticeship – if you want to go back to that old school term – prepares the boys for a career in football.
“There will be ups and downs, dejection and rejection throughout the season when they’re training and playing but there’s a support mechanism here for them all.
“From a 17s point of view, we have enjoyed an encouraging start and it is great to work with the group of players we have.
“I have to say that RYDC also plays an important part in their development.
“The work you do to raise funds for the Academy should be highlighted and we are all thankful for the support.
“I know millions of pounds has already been provided and that backing helps all the players and staff here.”
RYDC assist with youth development at the club through annual donations to the Rangers Academy and more than £12 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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