Former Rangers kid Matthew Shiels has claimed joining Hamilton after his Gers release is a “step up” for him – as he claimed a lot of the Ibrox youngsters feel they have no chance of making Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad.
Shiels spent time on loan with Clyde last season before opting to sign for recently relegated Accies after his Rangers deal came to an end, and the youngster is hoping he can force his way right into Brian Rice’s Accies starting XI.
The versatile left-sided player had been at Ibrox for eight years before his deal ended this summer, training with the first-team squad a few times, but Shiels thinks the move to Hamilton is the best thing for his career.
“When I was at Rangers it was with their academy, so it is a step up for me because it’s into first-team football now,” Shiels told the Hamilton Advertiser.
“That’s what I’m looking forward to, so hopefully I can impress and go straight into the team.
“I had been at Rangers for 12 years, I think it was time to move on and do the right thing for my career. I had trained with the first team a few times and I went away to Marbella with them, but I just felt like sometimes you weren’t getting through to the first team, and I think a lot of the boys feel the same.”
Rangers kids need to be given pathway to first-team
Shiels’ comments on other youngsters feeling there is no pathway to the first-team are concerning, although there will be a few who will point to the progression of Nathan Patterson as evidence of why Shiels is wrong.
With the Gers’ B team entering the Lowland League this season, there should be renewed opportunities for the best Academy talent to push for a place in the first-team squad at Ibrox in the coming months.
While Shiels never really came close to challenging for a first-team spot, there were plenty of opportunities for him to impress and force his way into the reckoning at Ibrox.
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