Graeme Murty has insisted that it is totally up to Ryan Hardie to stake his claim for a spot in the Rangers first team.
The youngster made just one appearance under former Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha this season when he played 18 minutes of the Gers’ goalless draw with Hearts in mid-August.
But after Murty took charge of Rangers as interim manager, following the sacking of Caixinha at the end of last month, Hardie has made two appearances from the bench.
Under Murty, he came on as a late substitute in both the games against Hearts and Partick Thistle before the international break, clocking up six minutes in total.
And the 42-year-old explained that having worked with Hardie in the Rangers academy, he shares a special bond with the striker.
relatedNewsStory
However, Murty was quick to add that Hardie has to perform well to turn out for the first team regularly as it is not about him giving the 20-year-old a chance.
“This would sound really harsh, but no”, Murty told Rangers TV, when asked if he is passionate about Hardie and wants to give him a chance.
“I like Ryan, I like Ryan’s attributes, if anything Ryan has to be passionate about getting into the first team.
“It’s not about the manager bringing people in to make a statement about youth or developing players or the academy.
“I’m the academy coach, so I know Ryan really well.
“Ryan has to go out and take the bull by the horns a little bit and say, ‘you can’t leave me out of this group.’
“But I know what Ryan can do, he scores goals, he’s a threat and he runs in behind really well.
“Does he have things which he needs to add to his game? Absolutely.
“Does he need to do more, more often? Absolutely.
“These are the conversations Ryan and I had many, many times.
“But what we do have is a personal relationship – I know him and he knows me and it means I can be slightly more demanding of him then possibly some other people.”
Hardie, whose present contract with Rangers will expire next summer, has had loan spells at Raith Rovers and St. Mirren.
