NO-LESS than seven Rangers Academy products have been named in Scot Gemmill’s Scotland under-21 squad for next month’s match away to Lithuania.
The young Dark Blues will travel to Vilnius on Tuesday, September 8 for their latest match in their attempts to qualify for next year’s Euro under-21 Championships.
Among the group is Nathan Patterson, and aged just 18, he’ll be hoping for his first appearance at that level having been a part of every one of Steven Gerrard’s squads so far this season.
Lewis Mayo has also been included – he had hoped for a debut back in March when Scotland were due to face Croatia and Greece, but the postponement of football means those matches will be rescheduled.
Goalkeeper Kieran Wright and winger Glenn Middleton are in the pool, as are stopper Robby McCrorie, who is on-loan at Livingston, and midfielder Stephen Kelly, who is at Ross County. Academy graduate Ross McCrorie, who this week moved to Aberdeen, has also been included in Gemmill’s squad.
It’s a further demonstration of the incredible work that has been done in the Rangers youth set-up in recent years, and Head of Academy, Craig Mulholland, commented: “This was a part of the KPI’s we have set out with.
“Originally, we had many players in the under-16, under-17s and even the under-19s, but the next stage for us was, ‘can we carry that forward to the under-21s?’
“If you consider the age these kids would have been when we started the project five years ago, that is them now hitting the age of under-21s.
“To have seven players that were produced here, and six players who are currently here – and the likes of Nathan and Lewis making their ‘debuts’ in the Scotland under-21s I think is fantastic and a reflection of the direction that all the staff have pushed the Academy in and the hard work of the players as well.”
On the inclusion of Patterson and Mayo in the pool, and the potential for them to make their debuts at this level, Mulholland continued:
“They are both exceptional players, first and foremost. Lewis Mayo, we have said many times, has an attitude which is phenomenal and probably one of the best in the whole club.
“And Nathan has come into the first-team group this year and demonstrated real talent. He is aggressive and he has been confident, and I think it is real praise to the manager, his staff and Ross Wilson as well as what we have created here at Rangers is an opportunity for Nathan to reach our first-team, and as a consequence, he is now getting rewarded by his national team as well.”
On his first 21s call-up, Nathan Patterson added: “It’s a great achievement and it’s always brilliant to go away with your national squad, especially this time with it being the first-time I’ve been in the under-21s.
“I have been keeping my head down and working hard. It’s paying off and I am delighted.”