Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson has admitted the Light Blue are facing ‘big barriers’ in their bid to have Colt teams continue in the league pyramid and insists it is “fundamentally” right for Scottish football to follow the lead of more successful nations.
With Rangers and Celtic getting a B team into the league at tier 5, there is uncertainty over their future with the SPFL remaining adamant they won’t be admitted to League Two.
The Rangers kids have been impressive in the Lowland League, currently sitting second in the table, and Wilson expects the Gers to continue pushing for the changes required to allow the Colts to remain in the pyramid.
“We are Scottish champions at Under-18 level and we play in Europe with our Under-19s,” Wilson told 90min.
“But we think Scottish football has lacked a development pathway between 18 and 21 – we have been clear on our thoughts and we want to see the authorities here lead with more innovation and drive.
“We have led the way for our team to be playing in tier five and we don’t care if the average age of the team we play against is 21 or 31, our average age will be 19 or under. It will give them the experience to play in front of fans, sold out in our case at times.
“Our aspiration was to get into the league, tier four, with the opportunity to get to tier three and that is our ambition.
“We fundamentally think that is right for Scottish football and it is happening all over Europe in places like Belgium, Holland and Spain, and we think this has to be brought in for Scottish football. We are very appreciative of being in tier five.
“We are trying to break down the barriers, and believe me they are big barriers – bigger than those in Europe.
“It is something Rangers have driven. We have led the way on our own, if others want to do it then great – but this is something we want to do.”
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