Graeme Smith, the head of academy goalkeeping at Rangers, feels that Allan McGregor is the perfect example for young shot-stoppers looking to come through the ranks at Ibrox.
McGregor rose through the ranks of the Gers academy and made his debut in February 2002 in a Scottish Cup tie against Forfar.
He established himself between the sticks at Rangers and, having left the club for spells at Besiktas, Hull City and Cardiff City, returned to Ibrox in the summer of 2018.
A number of young goalkeepers are bidding to make their mark at Rangers and opportunities could be there following the departures of Jak Alnwick and Wes Foderingham this summer.
Smith feels McGregor is the benchmark for young goalkeepers, but has urged them to remember that his path into the first team was not smooth.
“Allan is certainly the benchmark in terms of an academy goalkeeper getting to the first team and playing regularly however I think that he admits himself that it was not a comfortable journey to get there”, Smith said in a Q&A.
“He had to gain loan experience, deal with frustrations of not playing when he thought he should and had his fair share of injuries and this is something that we discuss regularly with our goalkeepers.
“They will have various obstacles, deviations in their pathway, but it is ultimately down to how they handle these situations that will determine whether they have a successful career.”
Rangers have had goalkeeper Robby McCrorie on loan at Scottish Premiership club Livingston this season.
