BY lifting the CAS Elite League last week, Rangers Under-19s secured qualification to next season’s UEFA Youth League, and head coach Malky Thomson believes it will be an exciting challenge for his young players.
Rangers last competed in the prestigious youth competition back in the 2022/23 campaign, squaring off against Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli.
They will enter the competition through the domestic champions path this time around after victory over St. Mirren last week sealed the league title, setting up two-legged ties against what the side will hope is a host of European outfits.
Speaking after clinching the league championship, Thomson said of his excitement at securing UEFA Youth League qualification: "It will be a big challenge going into Europe, but it’s something that the players need to deal with and prepare for. I’m looking forward to it.
“There’s a lot at Rangers that people aren’t aware of. There is a togetherness, and in the face of adversity, we come together.
“Winning trophies as a Rangers player? At the end of the day, these players need to get used to doing that.
“There was a lot of pressure on the game, and I don’t think we played particularly well, but there were a lot of nerves involved in it.
“They’ve now experienced that, and it’s another bit they can put into their armoury in terms of developing themselves as players.
“It’s been a collective effort, and we’ve had some really good staff around us.
"I’ve had some really good conversations with Craig McPherson [assistant coach], who talks to the players all the time; Conor Brennan, the goalkeeping coach; Tara Harvey, the physio.
“We also have Greg Statt at Under-17s level alongside James Wood [goalkeeping coach]. There’s a lot of good staff, and there’s also some players who didn’t feature in the game that have helped culminate in us winning the league.”
There is no doubt that it was a collective effort from the Under-19s squad to get over the line in a campaign which began all the way back in August.
But it required big moments from certain players, none more so than Zebedee Lawson’s brace on the final day to complete the turnaround win over St. Mirren.
Lawson arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, and Thomson says he has been pleased with the winger’s development.
He added: “We know the quality that he has, and his ability is unbelievable.
"He can be quite a frustrating character to work with, but he has a heart, desire, and a passion to win.
“He has a cool head, and he went about it the right way by scoring the goals.”
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