MARK WARBURTON, the Rangers manager, believes Scottish football will only improve when young players are taken “out of their comfort zone” and sent to English clubs on loan. Warburton believes there is little merit in his club’s academy prospects playing in the SPFL under-20 league and, as with last year, will instead put the majority of them out on loan, with Liam Kelly having already joined Livingston and Tom Walsh arriving at St Mirren.

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Warburton, though, wants clubs to “get out of the rut” of lending their youth talent only to other Scottish teams and to embrace more cross-border moves, citing the example of Gedion Zelalem the German-born American international who spent last season at Ibrox from Arsenal.

“Our boys have got to go out and play,” he said ahead of this evening’s Betfred Cup tie at home to Annan Athletic in which Matt Gilks, Lee Hodson, Clint Hill and Joey Barton will all make their Rangers debuts. “They can sit here and enjoy Murray Park, say they are at Rangers every day and enjoy the canteen and gym as it’s a fantastic place to be. But they have got to play football.

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“The under-20 league won’t suit them. There’s nothing to be gained by that at all. So go out and play competitive football where the guy alongside you needs to pay his mortgage. Players going out on appropriate loans, loans that challenge them, bring them on and really develop them as a player gives us something. But right now the loans are not working.

“I think there is a long held mentality that we just send them locally. ‘They are local lads, so they can come back, it’s not too far to drive’ - it’s nonsense. Look at Gedion. He’s 18 years old and came over from Germany to the States, from the US to London with Arsenal, played in the Champions League and then goes on loan to Rangers. That’s the difference. Where are our 18 year-olds doing that?

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“We have to challenge them. Send them to the best level they can play at. We need to take them out of their comfort zone and really see how they get on. We get stuck in a rut I think. Where are we going to send them? And the immediate thought process is to send them locally. We should be saying, “Where is the best club that is going to challenge them?” And if it’s down in Cornwall, Torquay or Bournemouth then do it. But we don’t.

“People say there aren’t enough players coming through the system to help Gordon Strachan and the national team in Scotland. There are some really good players in Scotland. But are we giving them the best chance to make that transition?

“The only reasons academies exist is to get players into the first team. If you’re not doing that then at some stage directors will turn around and ask why have an academy. So we have to produce players and give them the chance to be the best they can be. Tom Walsh has gone to St Mirren, a Championship club and that will be a good division this year. So I’m not saying that’s a bad loan but we have to think about each player and not just send them round the corner because it’s local.”

Warburton, the former Watford academy manager, reiterated his desire to one day introduce more homegrown players into his first team but feels that won’t be possible until those coming through the ranks are properly challenged during their development.

“[Getting young players into the first team] is naturally my remit as my background is academy football,” he added. “[Assistant manager] David Weir is the same. We want young players and if they are good enough we will pick them. But there is this fantasy about homegrown players and fans wanting that. Of course they do.

“The Spurs fans loved Harry Kane and Ryan Mason coming through. But they’re good enough to be there. And it’s the same here. There’s no point us putting a player in front of Ibrox if they aren’t good enough. We want to pick the young players but they need to get the chance to be good enough. And at the moment I’m not sure they are getting that chance.”