Mark Warburton has insisted that Ryan Hardie is not yet ready to make an impact in the first team at Rangers on a regular basis.
The 18-year-old, who clocked up just 79 minutes over four matches in all competitions for the Gers in the present campaign, joined fellow Scottish Championship outfit Raith Rovers on a short-term deal last month before extending his loan until the end of the season.
Hardie has already managed to find the back of the net for his new employers, with the striker thus far making two substitute appearances for Rovers.
And Warburton explained that Hardie’s loan was extended as he needed to have more first team experiences, something the youngster would have found hard to come by at Ibrox.
“Ryan will stay there until the end of the season because he needs to play games”, he said in his press conference on Friday.
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“You can sit there and say there is kudos with sitting on the Rangers bench, but there's no development sitting on our bench.
“You need time on the park to develop as a young player.
“Ryan Hardie isn't ready yet to impact on a regular basis.
“Of course he's a good player, but he needs to go and develop and he will do that at Raith.”
Hardie, whose present contract with Rangers runs until 2018, has so far amassed 10 appearances for the Scottish giants, finding the back of the net twice.
He is yet to earn a senior cap for Scotland but has represented the nation up to Under-19 level.
