RANGERS have had a number of players out on loan throughout the Scottish football pyramid over the past season, with each player playing their part in the relative success of their respective sides.
Lewis Mayo – Kilmarnock
Lewis was an integral member of Killie’s successful survival bid in the Scottish Premiership, playing over 3,500 minutes across the entire campaign for the Ayrshire side.
Indeed, the young defender missed only four games in the league under Derek McInnes, three of which were due to his ineligibility to face his parent club.
Further experience arrived for Lewis as he started and played 87 minutes at Hampden Stadium in Kilmarnock’s Viaplay Cup semi-final showdown back in January.
Appearances: 42
Ben Williamson – Dundee
Ben enjoyed a title-winning campaign on Tayside as he helped Dundee gain automatic promotion on a dramatic final day in the Scottish Championship.
The 21-year-old sprung from the substitutes bench at half-time at Ochilview Park as the Dee netted twice after the interval to claim a thrilling 5-3 victory over the Spiders.
The triumph rounded off a positive campaign for Ben under Gary Bowyer, hitting 30 appearances as his side also reached the quarter-finals of the Viaplay Cup.
Personal highlights for Ben included a go-ahead strike in a crucial top-of-the-table clash against Queen’s Park at Dens Park in January, while he also supplied Paul McMullan to score the only goal of the game on the road in Inverness a month previously.
Appearances: 30
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
Cole McKinnon – Partick Thistle
Cole’s season may have ended in heartbreak as the Jags fell to a penalty shootout defeat to Ross County in the play-off final, but it was a campaign full of positive experiences for the young midfielder.
The 20-year-old netted on the opening day of the campaign in a 3-2 win at Dens Park, following that up with a crucial strike on the road against Arbroath as the Firhill side began the campaign strongly.
Indeed, the Gers loanee started each of Thistle’s opening six league matches, and he was rewarded with a call-up to the Scotland Under-21s squad off the back of his impressive showings.
Opportunities were more difficult to come by for Cole following the departure of Ian McCall as manager in February, although the loanee featured against both Queen’s Park and Ayr United in the play-offs as the Jags racked up nine goals without reply across both away legs.
Appearances: 31
Goals: 3
Assists: 3
Josh McPake – Queen’s Park
Josh featured prominently as Queen’s Park narrowly missed out on promotion to the top-flight despite leading the Scottish Championship for a significant stretch of the season.
The 21-year-old was part of a potent Spiders attack which netted 63 goals across the league campaign, chipping in with seven goal contributions in all competitions.
The young loanee grabbed a brace in an emphatic 4-0 triumph over Partick Thistle at Firhill in October, while he also registered back-to-back goal contributions as Owen Coyle’s outfit hit the goal trail with victories over Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical before Christmas.
Defeat to Dundee on the final day of the Scottish Championship season ended Josh’s hopes of achieving automatic promotion with the Southsiders, with an 8-3 aggregate defeat to Partick Thistle condemning the Glasgow side to another campaign in the second tier.
Appearances: 33
Goals: 4
Assists: 3
Jay Hogarth – Alloa Athletic
Jay enjoyed a thoroughly impressive season at Alloa Athletic as they went close to claiming promotion to the Scottish Championship via the play-offs.
The teenage goalkeeper featured over 40 times for the Wasps under Brian Rice, starting all but three of his side’s league fixtures across the campaign.
Jay enjoyed a string of impressive displays between the posts as the League One side ended the season with the third best defensive record behind Falkirk and runaway champions Dunfermline Athletic.
Indeed, the teenager helped the Wasps smash a 20-year record when his clean sheet in a 1-0 win at Kelty Hearts in April ensured Alloa won three away games in a row without conceding for the first time since 2003.
International recognition has followed for Jay as he will now look forward to Scotland Under-21s’ friendly double-header against Norway later this month.
Appearances: 42
Clean sheets: 12
Connor Young – East Fife
Connor spent the final three months of the season with East Fife as the Bayview outfit bowed out in the semi-finals of the League One play-offs.
The 18-year-old, who netted seven times in the Lowland League in the first half of the campaign, scored once for East Fife in just under 130 minutes of football.
Indeed, the forward’s solitary strike came in a memorable 8-0 victory over Stranraer for The Fifers, rounding off the scoring with a thunderous effort from 12 yards out in stoppage time.
Appearances: 8
Goals: 1