Rangers loanee Josh McPake is eyeing silverware ahead of Harrogate Town’s FA Trophy final against Concord Rangers at Wembley on Monday [Rangers.co.uk].
McPake spent the first half of the season on loan at Morton in the SPFL Championship but headed south of the border in January after the opportunity arose to join Harrogate.
Since then, the 19-year-old winger has established himself as a key member of Simon Weaver’s starting XI, making 23 appearances in EFL League Two and scoring four goals.
The objective of staying up in their first season in the fourth tier has been achieved and now a chance to win something beckons.
Last season’s FA Trophy final, which was postponed due to the pandemic, is finally set to take place at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London on Monday and McPake is looking forward to the match.
“I have this cup final at Wembley and I can’t wait to play there,” he said [Rangers.co.uk]. “It will be amazing to play at such a famous stadium and it would be great for the Harrogate Town supporters if we could win it for them.”
“It will be strange to play with no fans at such a big stadium. The club had hoped to change the date and get fans in but it couldn’t be moved so I was a bit gutted about that.
“It would have been some experience to play in front of a crowd at Wembley but we will do all we can to try and get a positive result.”
The shot at silverware at Wembley is an added bonus at the back end of what’s been a successful loan spell for an exciting young player.
McPake is highly rated by Steven Gerrard, who handed him his first-team debut in a Europa League Qualifier against St Joseph’s at Ibrox in 2019, and the regular playing time he’s received in a competitive senior league with Harrogate will have benefitted his development immensely.
He’s contracted to Rangers until the summer of 2022 and will likely get a chance to show how much he has improved during pre-season.
In other news, a powerful Rangers player has been snapped in training as a first Old Firm appearance beckons on Sunday.
