Rangers prospect Josh McPake will get the chance to play at Wembley on Monday when Harrogate Town face Concord Rangers in the FA Trophy final and the teen winger is buzzing to sample the home of English football as he reflected on his growth on and off the pitch during his time south of the border.
McPake moved south on loan in January after a stint with Morton in the Scottish Championship, playing regularly and impressing as Harrogate consolidated their place in the EFL.
The 19-year-old admits it will be strange to play at Wembley with no fans there but has loved his time with the League Two side after struggling to make a mark in his previous loans away from Rangers.
“I have this cup final at Wembley and I can’t wait to play there,” McPake told Rangers TV. “The game was postponed from last season but now goes ahead on Monday and that will be a great experience for all of us.
“It will be amazing to play at such a famous stadium and it would be great for the Harrogate Town supporters if we could win it for them.
“It will be strange to play with no fans at such a big stadium. The club had hoped to change the date and get fans in but it couldn’t be moved so I was a bit gutted about that. It would have been some experience to play in front of a crowd at Wembley but we will do all we can to try and get a positive result.
“I moved here in January after being at Morton for the first half of the season and I have loved the experience.
“I have definitely grown as a person during this loan spell. This is the first time I have moved away from home so this experience has helped me a lot.
“The club have really looked after me, they have been brilliant with me since I joined to be honest and are always asking if they can do anything to help me and check on how I am doing each day.”
“Unfortunately I picked up an injury when on loan at Dundee and that cut my spell there short but I then went to Morton and really enjoyed it. I loved it there and it was great to play competitive games.
“I then got the chance to move to England on loan and continue my development. I have enjoyed the physicality and speed of the game down here, it suits my game and the move has worked out really well.”
McPake has scored four times in 23 appearances out on loan at Harrogate and feels vindicated that the decision to move south has been the right one.
His performances have won plaudits for fans as Simon Weaver’s side have fought with the likes of former Premier League trio Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Oldham Athletic.
With fans regularly praising his performances, McPake admits the standard in the EFL has helped him kick on with his development, joking there was going to be a statue built of him, adding: “The standard of football has been really good and there are a lot of good players in this league. Playing regular competitive games has been important and I was ready to go on loan. It has definitely been the right decision.
“The fans have really taken to me and I have had a lot of supportive comments on Twitter. I think I am getting a statue built down here!
“I have scored a few goals and even scored against Bradford the other week which was important so I definitely feel I have helped them.
“The plan was for Harrogate to stay up as this was their first season in league football and we have done that.
“My team-mates really helped me settle when I first joined and there are some good players here. Guys like striker Jon Stead have played in the English Premier League and he has helped me with my finishing.
“He is a quality player, I knew who he was and I could see his quality on the ball from the first training session so it is great to learn from players like that.
“I have played every game almost the full 90 minutes on the left-wing since I came here. I think that is my natural position now, cutting in from the left on to my right foot and using my skills to create chances and I have scored a few goals which has been great.”
In other news, Rangers face Champions League blow as 12-assist star set to miss crucial qualifying ties
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