Rangers and their Old Firm rivals Celtic could both have B teams playing in the Lowland Leagues next season, which could prove to be. huge boost to Steven Gerrard and his hopes of developing quality young talent at Ibrox.
As per Sky Sports, both Rangers and the Hoops have been invited to join the Scottish Lowland Football League on a one-season basis ahead of next season, as both clubs look to improve the development of young players, whilst also hopefully boosting the quality of the lower leagues in Scotland.
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson has recently spoken about the prospective plans for next season, saying:
“That’s something we have looked upon favourably and something that we would potentially be interested in if, of course, it was something the members of the Lowland League wanted to embrace as well.
“We want to test our players in different scenarios. Playing in the Lowland League would provide a completely different test for the young players, as well as our best-v-best games programme that we would continue to operate against some of the best teams in Europe.
“We want to aid that transition, we feel Scottish football needs to do something for that, and we are thankful that the Lowland League have stepped forward when maybe others haven’t.”
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Although sending players out on loan to other clubs can be successful, this would guarantee that all of the youngsters in Rangers' academy can get regular competitive football whilst also testing themselves against more senior professionals, which is surely something which would stand the Ibrox outfit in good stead for the future.
It also provides a direct pathway to the first-team, as if the youngsters can impress in the lower leagues under the careful eye of Rangers scouts and coaches, then it seems likely that they could be afforded more opportunities in the first-team in the future.
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Therefore, this update from Wilson is undoubtedly a huge boost for Gerrard and the club as a whole, as it will be a great experience for those in the Rangers academy sides to test themselves next season, whilst continuing to make use of the great facilities and coaching on offer at Ibrox.
If even a couple of players use the experience to become better players and help out Rangers in the future, this will have been a more than worthwhile decision for the Glasgow club. Gerrard should be buzzing that his youngsters will be getting this chance to improve and more importantly, prove themselves to him.
And, in other news... Gerrard dealt shock Rangers blow after huge claim on "top talent", he could leave Ibrox