Andy Halliday urges Rangers youngsters to take their chance

Follow us on Google Discover

Rangers are on the hunt to win their first piece of silverware under Steven Gerrard.

Andy Halliday has warned the Rangers youngsters that if they don’t take their chance during pre-season then they will be ‘back down to the reserves’ ahead of the new Scottish Premiership campaign.

For any footballer, especially the younger group of players, pre-season is the chance to train, play and compete with the senior team ahead of a new season.

During the previous campaign, in Steven Gerrard’s first season at Ibrox, youngster Glenn Middleton was one of those youngsters who took his chance and made a name for himself in pre-season and was then given opportunities in the first-team.

Halliday has shared that he has had a word with a certain group of Rangers players in pre-season as he wants them to take the same road as Middleton.

“I’ve had a conversation with a few of the young boys ahead of the pre-season trip,” Halliday told the Herald Scotland. “Obviously, I was an example myself of how you can use it to impress the manager and stake a claim.

“But for the young boys coming with us, they should look no further than Glenn Middleton. A year ago, he was part of four or five kids who came with us to Marbella last year. But he managed to play his way into the fold. He trained so well that when the European games came up quickly, he was in the matchday squad.

“The younger ones who didn’t quite catch the eye were back down with the reserves. So I’ve had a chat with them to say Glenn’s the marker for them this time. If they go and do as well as he did in Portugal, they’ll have a chance.”

Whilst Rangers have dipped into the summer transfer market to buy players, their academy is also going to play a part in what happens to them next season.

Gerrard’s main task is to win the Scottish Premiership title, and his summer business, his current crop of senior players and those coming through the ranks will play a huge part in them potentially stopping their rivals from continuing their dominance.