Rangers have problems throughout the club, however, not having a permanent and specialist academy director is a big one.
Nils Koppen is keen to revamp the academy and has acknowledged that there are shortfalls at Auchenhowie in terms of progressing players into the first team squad.
The technical director has also spoken about bringing familiar faces back to Rangers with current Under-18 head coach Steven Smith highlighting the difference between his time as a player and as a member of staff.
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Steven Smith names problem that affects current Rangers setup
Speaking to the Rangers Youth Development Company, Smith was speaking about his journey as a player and coach:
“I still get the same buzz driving in the blue gates at the training ground every day,” said Smith of his return to the academy.
“It’s a club I love working at. Of course, the first thing is youth development and producing players for the first team but you can add to that by putting pressure on the players to win.
“If you don’t put that pressure on them at an early enough age they won’t succeed here.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with so many big names who have been at the club.
“As a young player here I was lucky enough to work with Bobby Russell, John Brown, Ian Durrant, Ally McCoist, Walter Smith and John Greig when he was at the youth side.
“They are some of the greatest names ever associated with Rangers and it was the way I was brought up.
“That’s all I knew and it was a great learning experience. I was very privileged to be coached by those type of men.
“It’s all about discipline, habits and standards that they gave me that will always exist here.
“If you don’t have that then you will have absolutely no chance of making the first-team.”
The names Smith talks about are some of the biggest and most influential in Rangers’ history.
The greatest Rangers, the club’s record goal scorer, the greatest manager in modern history and nine-in-a-row legends.
Who could Koppen appoint to redress Rangers standards?
In terms of who Koppen could look to recruit now, the obvious names are; Barry Ferguson, who once interviewed to be Pedro Caixinha’s number two, Steven Davis, Kevin Thomson, Lee McCulloch and Peter Lovenkrands.
These players – except for Ferguson – might not be at the level of the idols that Smith had as mentors, however, they have all had the standards of Rangers hammered into them as players.
They also have well stocked personal trophy cabinets.
It is another area of the club that needs to be addressed, but one that should be the easiest to get right.
