disgruntled_bear 157 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 by Darrell King ALLY McCOIST today vowed that Rangers will take their time with teenage prodigy John Fleck. The 16-year-old's entry into last night's 6-0 Scottish Cup win over East Stirling made him the youngest player to pull on a Light Blue jersey since Derek Ferguson featured against Queen of the South in 1983. And McCoist says he has never seen such a young player with such game knowledge'. But the Ibrox No.2 warned: "We have to look after the lad and monitor his development. "It's about finding the right balance and trying to keep an eye on him, but also making sure he doesn't miss his chance. "He'll get bits of first team action when we feel that it's right. But we don't want to rush him." McCoist was happy with the overall tempo of Rangers play and admitted there were a lot of positives to take from the tie that sets up a fifth-round cruncher against Hibs at Easter Road on February 3. "They are always awkward games, but it was good to see Kris Boyd get a hat-trick, and to see both Alan Gow and Thomas Buffel doing well," McCoist added. Asked about the importance of the Scottish Cup to Rangers, McCoist replied: "Well, considering the fact we haven't won anything for two years, it means everything. "A lot has been said about the club in the past year since Walter came back, but the fact remains that we haven't won anything. "The Scottish Cup is no different to the League Cup and the league campaign. It's very important to us." A Kris Boyd hat-trick, a Lee McCulloch double and a strike from Alan Hutton secured a convincing win over the Scottish Third Division side at Ibrox. But McCoist admits he was unable to relax until McCulloch - who had a goal disallowed early on - grabbed the opener with 24 minutes on the clock. He said: "The first goal was vitally important for us and, once we got that, I felt we were fairly comfortable." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/displa...1991159.0.0.php Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR 1,480 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Sensible from our Alistair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimenez 1 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Just watched Ibrox uncovered When McCulloch was asked to comment on young Fleck, his face lit up instantly and had only wonderful things to say about him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rohan 23 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 He'll be 17 next year, if he is as good as we hear then I'd almost expect him to be a regular in the team this time next year. I think he should be getting more play time than he currently is tbh, but I can see how it's hard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza 21 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I think we're all eagre to see him on a more consistant basis but we've got to trust the men that work with him to break him in when they're ready. He got the loudest roar of the night when he came on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby 41 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 much as im keen to see him at ibrox, they know what they are doing and we just have to wait. fingers crossed he lives up to the hype when he hits the top level Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloudstrife3139 0 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I dont think he'll be a regular next year, i expect him to be one in 2/3 years. If you look back at all the recent young rangers players, like Stephen Hughes, Hutton, Smith, Ferguson, Burke, McGregor, etc etc then you'll notice they all break through for their debuts 2/3 years before they become regulars. I remember the game away to Partick Thistle in which Hutton made his debut, they targeted him a little and i think he got tooken off, but i wouldn't say he ad a bad game. Playing first team football for any club is more about conquering your nerves, being comfortable and expressing yourself in the way you want to play the game really. I think a lot its to do with confidence for youn players rather than ability, thats why you get failures. like the young players who a deemed huge prospects at youth level and then dont meet their potential. They just cant adapt to bigger, older, and more confident players for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 505 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 While I understand why we wouldn't want to expose the lad too much, it's vital he gets experience of playing at first team level to aid his development. If other clubs and countries can rely on teenagers, so can we... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rohan 23 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I dont think he'll be a regular next year, i expect him to be one in 2/3 years. If you look back at all the recent young rangers players, like Stephen Hughes, Hutton, Smith, Ferguson, Burke, McGregor, etc etc then you'll notice they all break through for their debuts 2/3 years before they become regulars. I remember the game away to Partick Thistle in which Hutton made his debut, they targeted him a little and i think he got tooken off, but i wouldn't say he ad a bad game. Playing first team football for any club is more about conquering your nerves, being comfortable and expressing yourself in the way you want to play the game really. I think a lot its to do with confidence for youn players rather than ability, thats why you get failures. like the young players who a deemed huge prospects at youth level and then dont meet their potential. They just cant adapt to bigger, older, and more confident players for me. If it took him untill he was 20 years old to begin making consistant first team appearances then i wouldn't expect him to be rated all that highly. The talk about this guy suggests he will be a regular long before this age. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dundeebear70 0 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 With youngsters its more to do with physical bearing than skill as to when they break through. An 18 year old weakling would only suffer playing against fully grown men. Fleck looks made of stronger stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poetry_In_Blue 1,043 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I was listening to the game on the radio, and for the length of the time he was on the pitch, even the commentators started to realise how good this guy could be, with his runs, intellligent passing etc. Would hope that we do see more of him this season and next, I feel that as long as he is ok physically then he should play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear 25 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 While I understand why we wouldn't want to expose the lad too much, it's vital he gets experience of playing at first team level to aid his development. If other clubs and countries can rely on teenagers, so can we... Fergie and Wenger are the masters at bring them through in the right way. We just don't want to do what liverpool did to owne and ruin him before he's 22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearethepeople 0 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 that's what happened to me the gaffer run me into the ground at early age.. I could have been a contender... <_< On a serious note, we could be looking at a future captain of Rangers (no preasure aye) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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