Talented young Rangers midfielder Jack Thomson has raved about his loan stint at Clyde amid a frantic end to the League One season.
Thomson is highly rated at Ibrox but a series of injury problems have set back his progress in recent years.
He managed to secure a first-ever loan exit from Ibrox in January, though, and has since made ten appearances for the Bully Wee in all competitions.
The 21-year-old’s latest outing came off the bench in a 1-0 defeat to Dumbarton on Thursday night that was, remarkably, Clyde’s seventh fixture in two weeks.
“I’ve loved it to be honest,” Thomson told reporters. “I hadn’t played a full game, because of coronavirus, for so long, so to come into this environment to play every couple of days has been brilliant for my development.”
“We’ve literally got no training. We might have the odd session here and there but it’s just recovery days and playing games – it’s a footballer’s dream.
“It’s all analysis and talking to the gaffer. He shows us clips and PowerPoint slides because you can’t do work on the football pitch or training ground right now. It’s all done face to face and online because that’s all you can do. You need to take that onto the pitch and implement it.”
Thomson recently received praise from Clyde manager Danny Lennon, who said he is one of the best he’s ever seen at handling the step up in physicality from development to senior football, and the young Ger admits he has noticed a difference in intensity.
“It’s tough,” he added. “It’s really competitive and it’s a lot more competitive than academy games. The style is different and it changes a lot.”
“The one thing that I’m getting the most out of is the competitiveness of it and how intense games can be. I’m really enjoying that because you don’t get that with academy football.”
He also feels he’s getting everything he needs from Rangers in terms of support, with extra training resources available as well as regular contact with staff.
“You can go to Auchenhowie but I need to stay in the bubble of the academy players who are also on loan at Clyde. The communication is different but there is always someone watching my games.
“Billy Kirkwood [loans manager] was here [against Partick Thistle on Tuesday night] and there is always that communication there with Rangers. They will always ask you how you are getting on, which is really good.”
In other news, Steven Gerrard has teased a possible major boost for Rangers ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm.