NICKY HOGARTH believes his loan spell last season has helped him gain valuable experience to bring back to Rangers.
The 19-year-old goalkeeper spent the second half of last season at Stirling Albion, making nine appearances in League Two before the suspension of football.
Now back at Rangers Academy, Hogarth has been playing in the B team, keeping a clean sheet in yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Queen’s Park.
Speaking to RangersTV after the game, he said: “It was a tough one, we had to do a lot of defending and never really got a chance to attack.
“I thought we dug in well, it was a man’s game similar to all the games I faced last year when I was on loan. I think that is a really good experience for Kyle [McClelland] and Harris [O’Connor] to go and deal with that.
“It was really competitive the full way through. We must've faced about 30 corners but that's what we need as a team to develop.
“It has been a long time coming for the first clean sheet this year but hopefully we can build from here. We are starting to form relationships as a unit so it is getting better.”
Used to being one of the younger players in the squad while on loan, Hogarth is enjoying taking on a new role as one of the more experienced players in a young Rangers B Team.
He continued: “My loan has given me a bit of experience that I can pass on to the younger lads in front of me and just help them through the game and they can help the other boys around them.
“It is new for me, I'm used to being one of the younger ones when I have been on loan but it is something I am trying to take in my stride and pass on the experience that I have had and bring it into these games.”