The B Team assistant boss reflected on last week’s fixture against East Stirlingshire and recognised the areas that the squad must improve on as they head towards the border this weekend to take on Stephen Hatfield’s side.
Speaking exclusively to RangersTV, he said: “There are a few things in the game, the thing that springs to mind are the opportunities that we created to score. Looking back on that and sharing with the players, it’s an area where we’ve felt the last few games that I think we can be more clinical in our opportunities.
“I think there’s are a bit of credit to the lads in how they manufacture the opportunities to get inside the box, but the ultimate part of when we get there is to try tidy a little up. I think at the weekend we had opportunities early in the game – it’s just about continuing to work and try and take those opportunities when they come along because it might have made a difference when the game starts to pan out.
“Any Lowland League game that we have played in, there haven’t been many that doesn’t face you with different types of challenges – [Gretna] will be no different. We will get to a point where we will be fully focused on Gretna, we know that it’s a tough away game and we’ll be looking to go down there and try and get a performance and result. It’s been a disappointing week results-wise, so we’ll be looking to put that right on Saturday.”
Gilmour added the positive progression of the U18’s players as they train regularly with the B Team and insisted that there is always an opportunity for them to step up into the Lowland League.
He continued: “In terms of the progression that you see in them, I think it’s always going to be the ones that played smaller minutes that are still getting used to the difference of it. The benefit of it is that they’re training with the B team lads and you can see the progression and the players are getting more comfortable with the environment that they’re playing in.
“We speak often about the intensity and challenges that they face; I think that they’re starting to understand and move their game – there comes a time where you have to allow them that part to get comfortable with it, but there then comes a point where you want them to showcase what they’ve got when they come into the team.
“I speak often that this is quite a young squad, but I think that it’s an opportunity for everybody regardless of their age. It’s another opportunity to go and make a mark individually and put your stamp on it to showcase what you’ve got to ultimately help the team as well. There will be opportunities whether you are an U18’s player or a B team player – that opportunity always exists for me.”
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