PEDRO Caixinha may have had no other option but to blood some of the most promising players coming through the youth ranks at Auchenhowie since being appointed manager at Rangers back in March.
David Bates and Myles Beerman were only given their chance in the first team at Ibrox at centre half and left back respectively after Clint Hill and captain Lee Wallace picked up injuries because Caixinha had no alternative.
But could the Portuguese coach be the man who finally puts his faith in the best talents emerging from a training ground which has, since it was opened at the cost of £14 million back in 2001, never quite managed to become the production line of talent it was supposed to be?
The 46-year-old is in the process of offloading players he has decided have no future at Rangers and has started speaking to individuals he would like to add to his squad in the summer.
There are sure to be many comings and goings in the weeks ahead as he attempts to build a team capable of challenging Aberdeen and Celtic for silverware domestically and qualifying for the Europa League group stages next season.
Will, though, home-grown talents continue to feature prominently in his plans? It will be interesting to see. But the early indications are certainly that the former Uniao Leiria, Nacional, Santos Laguna and Al-Gharafa coach is quite prepared to take a risk on a youngster.
Some fine players have certainly broken through at Rangers over the years. Barrie McKay, the winger who scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the 2-1 triumph over Hearts in a Ladbrokes Premiership game at Ibrox on Saturday, is the most notable to do so in recent years.
But the return on the considerable investment that has been ploughed into Auchenhowie has been negligible. Were Caixinha to change that it would be hugely significant for a club which continues to grapple with serious historical issues and operate at a loss.
Jamie Barjonas, the 18-year-old midfielder who joined the Glasgow club nine years ago, is the latest hopeful to be handed his debut. He came off the bench in the second half of the Hearts game just as he had in the league meeting with Partick Thistle at Firhill six days earlier.
It wasn’t the ideal game for the Scot, whose exotic-sounding surname comes from his Lithuanian great grandfather, to feature in. Once again, Rangers failed to impress despite grinding out a victory and accumulating another three points. But he certainly did well enough to suggest he may have a decent future.
Barjonas revealed the success of Bates, who played in the absence of the injured Danny Wilson once again, and Beerman, who was replaced by Lee Hodson at the weekend, had created optimism in the age-group squads at Auchenhowie that they will get a chance should they manage to attain a certain standard.
“There is a clear pathway to the first team,” he said. “When Myles got into the first team it gave every single player in the under-20s such a massive lift. Training lifted, the quality and the tempo lifted too. We know if we work hard and we show our quality then we will make it.
“I have another year on my current contract. I’m taking each day as it comes, trying to catch the gaffer’s eye and just working as hard as I can. I’ll try and do as much as I can for the team, I’ll let my feet do the talking.
“I’m a strong player when I get on the ball and I have a good range of passing which is another strength. I’m trying to kick on as much as I can. I know players will come in during the summer, but I like that, it’s a challenge. If I’m back down at the under-20s I’ll keep working as hard as I can.”
Barjonas added: “It was nerve-wracking when I went on. I just tried to do my best. Getting the win was brilliant, I am still buzzing. The gaffer spoke to me just before I went on. He just said: ‘It’s your home debut, go and enjoy it’. It was as simple as that. I went on and I enjoyed it.
“I think the last time I played at Ibrox was a Thursday morning for the under-20s against Motherwell. There were 20 people there that day. It was some difference playing in front of 50,000 fans. It was honestly a dream come true. I tried to play as well as I could.”
Rangers may well have done that as well, but, once again, their performance left much to be desired. They went a goal ahead early on after Joe Garner netted a diving header. When Prince Buaben was ordered off in the 26th minute for bringin down Josh Windass as he broke through on goal a home victory looked inevitable.
But Hearts boss Ian Cathro switched to a 3-4-2 formation and his team dominated long spells of the match. Esmael Goncalves levelled early in the second half and only an error by goalkeeper Viktor Noring allowed the hosts to reclaim a lead which they managed to hold on to.
Caixinha’s eagerness to bring in his own players is now tangible. He clearly feels the quality of many of the players he has at his disposal is not good enough and few among the support would disagree.
The new faces could certainly limit the game time which the likes of Bates, Barjonas and Beerman receive going forward. But do not bet against the trio, and a few of their contemporaries, featuring prominently for Rangers.
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