disgruntled_bear Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 TOMMY WILSON last night tipped a host of Rangers young guns to follow trailblazer John Fleck into the first team. The Murray Park reserve team boss believes the next batch are battering down Walter Smith's door after seeing fellow youth product Fleck take the SPL by storm. As the global recession hits at Ibrox, Wilson is working overtime to make sure the club's teenage talent are ready for the step up. In his role as youth academy technical director, Wilson knows the emergence of kids such as Fleck, Danny Wilson, Andrew Shinnie and Jamie Ness is key to future success. Former St Mirren defender Wilson believes an end to boom and bust in football will see a host of homegrown youngsters being fast-tracked to the top. He said: "Before Fleck made his breakthrough there was spotlight on Murray Park and the work we were doing here. "We're as confident as we can be that we have kids ready to make a breakthrough right now. "You don't find that out until they are thrown in and are tested at SPL level. We felt Flecky was there or thereabouts but until we saw how well he handled it we were never quite sure. "Due to the financial problems in the world, clubs are cutting back and Rangers are no different. "We have invested a lot of time and money in our youth academy so now is the ideal opportunity for our young players to be given their chance. "John is one of a number of talented lads at Rangers and is the first among equals with the young players. Without exaggerating the position we are in, we believe we have a number of young players who can emulate what Flecky has done. "Boys such as Wilson, Shinnie and Ness fall in to that category. Others have shown promise but after coming in and blossoming they have lost their way a bit so that's always a danger. "We tell them not to say that they're ready and when their chancecomes they fall on their face. "We must remember Rangers are judged on winning things so it's difficult to blood young players in an environment where success is demanded. That's where the manager and his wealth of experience comes into play." Nobody knows Fleck better than Wilson. He has helped the kid progress through theMurray Park ranks and has no fears about his ability to cope with a meteoric promotion into George Burley's Scotland side to face Holland in the crucial World Cup qualifier. He said: "John has a special talent and has had the opportunity in recent weeks to display that. "But I am a bit guarded about his development as it has taken a lot of hard work with him, his family and the club to get him to this situation. "It's not wise to build him up to be the Great White Hope or the next great thing. "He has come into the first team and looked mature beyond his years and as a nation we don't have alot of wide left players. "Whatever happens with Flecky, you can be sure he'll take it in his stride. George has said he blooded a number of players over the years so he has the experience. "You would rely on both his and Walter's experience to handle the whole thing sensibly. "Guys like AllyMcCoist and Ian Durrant have been there and done it so they know all the pitfalls for a West of Scotland youngster." The in-house motto at Murray Park is "Ready to Work - Ready to Win" and Wilson is sure more youths will step up in the coming months. Rangers have around 70 full-time players and the former Scotland Under-19 boss believes some unknown names are set to emerge. He said: "I'm always reluctant to single anyone out but lads such as Danny Wilson, Greig Wylde, Ross Perry and Stephen Stirling have been the pick of our Under-19 players. "Our youth director Jimmy Sinclair told me last week we have something like 30 internationalists in our academy. We have Scottish, Irish, Lithuanian, Cypriot, Turkish, Norwegian and a few others. "That's an exciting statistic and we are never sure which ones will emerge quicker than the others. "Some think they'll never get a chance but I'm always stressing to them the need to be ready to play. "If they get a chance and they're not ready they'll never get another. "Development of players is all about looking into the future. My job is to make sure they're ready if the manager wants them. "We cannot short-circuit the development programme. Some of our Under-19 players have been on the bench for the reserves or the first team but we don't sacrifice any of their training sessions." Critics have questioned why Scotland has a shortage of talented youngsters but Wilson puts it down to fewer people playing football. He said: "We are always trying to play catch-up with the kids we bring into our academy as the standard across the board is down a bit - and Ihave a fair idea why. "We have a shrinking population and fewer people are playing football. Even though I wasn't involved in coaching 20 years ago there is no doubt it's more difficult to produce players now who have enough quality for first-team level. "We are here to try to provide players for the first team and when we do that there is a great deal of satisfaction. "The Ian Durrants, Barry Fergusons, Allan McGregors and Allan Huttons - these players are role models for our youngsters. "It allows them to see the rewards they can achieve if they stick in." http://www.<No links to this website>/football/old-...86908-21116930/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaguy51 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Let's hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvager Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Looks promising, but time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyseye Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 "Ready to Work - Ready to Win" What a great motto... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easterhouse64 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 "Ready to Work - Ready to Win" What a great motto... aye ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Interesting article. Let's hope a few more can make the breakthrough. Financial crisis may yet be a great thing for Scottish football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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