Rangers’ sporting director Ross Wilson thinks Scottish football is being left behind by the rest of Europe in terms of player development after once again rejecting proposals to allow B teams to enter the league pyramid.
The Gers have long championed allowing teams to field an age-restricted second XI in the lower leagues, calling it a “proven model of success” as Wilson called on Scottish football to put far greater emphasis on developing young players.
With the proposals not proving particularly popular with fans of lower league sides, Wilson admits they must be respectful of the views of supporters around the country.
“The B teams as we call them, rather than Colts, is a programme of player development we fundamentally believe in,” Wilson told Rangers TV.
“We believe in it as a club, we believe in it as a group of people, and it’s a proven model of success you can see in many countries throughout Europe. As every season goes past, another country brings that model on board.
“I think it goes without saying that we are disappointed that, as a country, we have still not made any headway on that. But it is a project we believe in, and I find it hard to imagine a moment we wouldn’t believe in that.
“It’s something we’ve given huge backing to. We played a big part in creating something called the ‘Scottish Football Innovation Paper’.
“That was about much more than B teams, because player development should sit at the heart of Scottish football and we feel as a country we are missing a key part in young players’ development, particularly in the ages of 17 and 21.
“It’s no coincidence so many countries throughout Europe have gone in that direction, and we would hope this country would understand that. We also understand that in the lower leagues in particular, there are fans and friends that don’t buy into that model, and we have to respect that.
“We have to respect that there are fans of clubs in different parts of the country have got different opinions on that and they are entitled to those views.
“What we would always say is, we want player development at the heart of a national strategy, and we don’t see that strongly enough within the country. What we’ve spoken about in terms of B teams isn’t plucked from thin air, it’s something based on strong research and models that work throughout Europe.
“We want Scottish football to be open-minded to that, but equally we as Rangers are also open-minded to anybody that wants to come forward with an alternative model.
“But we’re not seeing that at the moment and we would love to see player development sit much higher up the agenda.”
In other news, an EFL manager has responded to reports Rangers are chasing one of his players ahead of a summer swoop
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