Rangers loanee Rhys Breen has expressed his delight at a strong debut performance for Championship side Queen of the South on Saturday afternoon [Queen of the South FC YouTube].
The 21-year-old centre-back spent the first half of the season with Partick Thistle in League One, but an ankle injury restricted him to just six Jags appearances by the turn of the year.
He had been due to stay on at Firhill until the end of the campaign, but in an ambitious move, he instead briefly returned to Rangers before stepping up a division and joining QoS on loan.
The imposing 6ft 3″ defender was an unused substitute for a 2-2 draw with Arbroath last weekend but he made his debut on Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes at the heart of defence in a 2-1 home win over Morton.
“It was brilliant,” said Breen of the game [Queen of the South FC YouTube]. “Especially to get the three points. I feel like that’s the biggest thing even though with my personal performance I thought I did well.”
“I’ve been here for about two weeks and from the second I came in I had to make sure I was working hard every day and I knew I was going to get my chance at some point. I feel like I took it today and I can’t wait for the future.”
Fellow Gers youngsters James Maxwell and Dapo Mebude are at Queen of the South with Breen, but he is two years older than his teammates, so the next few months could be particularly important for him in terms of proving he has what it takes to make it at Ibrox.
20-year-old Lewis Mayo was ahead of Breen in the Rangers pecking order ahead of the current season, but he’s currently struggling for playing time at Dunfermline.
They may both be dealt a blow soon, though, with a report suggesting that a highly-rated 6ft 4″ defender could join the first-team ranks at Ibrox this month.
