Rangers academy coach Billy Kirkwood has explained that he is very pleased with the manner in which first team manager Mark Warburton and his staff keep close tabs on the starlets at Ibrox.
Since Warburton took charge of the club in the summer, several academy players train with the first team, with the manager also often taking time off from his busy schedule to watch the Under-17s and the Under-20s in action.
Recently, a number of academy players made a two-week trip to Valencia with the Under-20s, while the others trained with the first team under the watchful eyes of Warburton.
And Kirkwood, who is delighted with the fact that his charges get to regularly train with the first team, urged them to give their all in training to catch the attention of Warburton and company.
“The fact [is] that the manager watches so many of the under-20s games and also the under-17s games and he also watches some of the younger training too”, he said on Rangers TV.
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“The fact that these kids go round to train with the first team is great.
"We always say to the players who go to work with the first team that they have to make sure that they are not just there to make up the numbers.
“They have to go there and catch the eye of guys like David Weir and the manager. Then, they wouldn’t be scared to use them at any time.”
Kirkwood, who is now in his second spell as a youth coach at Rangers, also has experience of managing Dundee United and St. Johnstone.
