HAVING to field two inexperienced defenders with a combined age of just 38 against two attacking players who have scored no fewer than 55 goals between them in the course of the season would be concerning at the best of times.

Being forced to do so in a game against your fiercest rivals in front of a sell-out crowd of over 50,000 in the semi-final of a competition that offers your last chance of lifting a trophy makes it all the more daunting a prospect.

But Danny Wilson, who was himself thrust into such an occasion at the outset of his career, believes that David Bates and Myles Beerman should savour pitting themselves against Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair tomorrow in the absences of Clint Hill and Lee Wallace.

Wilson has produced arguably the best form of his second spell at Ibrox since new manager Pedro Caixinha has introduced a more defensively robust game plan and has helped his side keep clean sheets in their last three competitive outings.

He is hopeful that his fellow centre half Bates, 20, and left back Beerman, 18, will be less exposed in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden than they may have been previously and can acquit themselves well against opponents as formidable as Dembele and Sinclair as a result.

“There has maybe been a change as a team and more of a defensive emphasis,” he said. “Different managers will come in and ask you to do different things. The previous manager asked the full-backs to be more expansive because that is their strength. They are very good going forward. But maybe at times we got caught out by that and teams played on that.

“We have been a lot more organised in recent games and the midfield have really helped. I think Jason Holt has been terrific. Maybe that has given us that extra bit of protection. It is something that has just clicked into gear recently and hopefully going forward it can stay like that.”

Wilson added: “They (Bates and Beerman) will be fortunate to be involved in a game like this at this stage of their careers. If these boys are selected for the weekend they should just enjoy it. They should just embrace the challenge. We are lucky to be in this position. How many other people would want to be in that position?

“I have got no issues with them if they are selected. In the games they have played so far, they have handled themselves very well. It is going to be a difficult game so we need everyone to step up. I have got no problem with them doing that.

“Too much can be made of age. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It has been proven over the years that you can be 18 or you can be 38 and you can play well.”

Wilson made his own debut in the Old Firm fixture at Parkhead at the start of 2010 when he was just 18 and had only played six games of senior football. But he helped Rangers record a 1-1 draw against Celtic that proved important in their second consecutive Scottish title triumph that season.

“I was lucky,” he said. “Boogie (Madjid Bougherra) went to the African Cup of Nations. I found myself in the team. It was a bit of a blur, but I really enjoyed the occasion. We managed to get a 1-1 draw. Lee McCulloch scored a header. It was a good point for us in the end.

“Most people think I’m about 30 as a result! I am only 25! Some people think I have been around for a while. But I am at an age now where I have to take responsibility and be a responsible player.”

Wilson, who has since played for Liverpool, Blackpool, Bristol City, Hearts and Scotland, was helped in that outing and his other early appearances for Rangers by having the vastly-experienced Davie Weir alongside him in defence.

He downplayed suggestions, though, that he had performed a similar mentoring role since Bates and Beerman had been promoted to the first team at Ibrox.

“Maybe from the outside looking in it seems like I am taking great responsibility,” he said. “But I always try to be responsible when I play and do as much as I can. The team is in a better place and on a better run and I am possibly playing better as a consequence of that.

“If they do play, we have all got a responsibility to look after them. But they have got a responsibility to be a part of the team and do what they can.”

Wilson was at fault for the goal that Moussa Dembele scored for Celtic against Rangers in a league match at Ibrox in December – he lost the French striker at a corner – so appreciates only too well that he and his fellow defenders will have to be on top of their games to prevent him and his team mates netting.

“Dembele is terrific,” he said. “All their front players are, but he has scored a large number of goals this year. His presence, his physicality, his touch are all superb. He is a top player. He is very difficult to keep out, but that is the task we have got this weekend. If you give the forward players they have an inch, they can do a lot of damage.”

Wilson, though, helped Rangers earn a deserved 1-1 draw with Celtic in a Ladbrokes Premiership match at Parkhead last month just before Caixinha, who was watching from the main stand, took over. He was greatly encouraged by the display at the back that day and feels that replicating it would give them a chance of triumphing.

“For large parts of the game we were solid," he said. "The goal we lost was from outside the box. So they never really broke us down.

“With the front players that Celtic have got, it is going to be very difficult to keep them out. But if we can do that then hopefully we can take our chances at the other end of the park this time. Last time out we had a couple of one on ones that we didn’t take advantage of."