GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has backed Alex Lowry to rise to the challenge at Ibrox and compete with Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield for a starting spot this term.
The 18-year-old has grabbed his chance to shine in recent days after marking his debut against Stirling Albion with a goal and then producing an accomplished performance in the victory over Livingston.
Boss Van Bronckhorst stuck with Lowry against the Lions as Arfield came off the bench to net a late winner that maintained Rangers' lead in the Premiership title race.
But the Auchenhowie kid now faces an even stiffer challenge for a shirt as Aribo gets set to return to action against Ross County following his appearances at the African Cup of Nations.
Van Bronckhorst said: "Of course it’s his talent. His confidence was always there.
"I think he first session he joined he was a bit nervous. You could tell.
"He was making a lot of mistakes actually in things he can do well.
"You could see he can control the ball well, he can pass it. But at first he made many mistakes in that.
"But after he was a little bit more settled and you saw his confidence coming back. You could see the Alex you see now on the pitch with moments where he’s very dangerous and very energetic and creating dangerous chances.
"At times you also save his youthfulness when he had to pay faster but that’s a normal process for him. I’m really pleased for him with the way he’s performing just now.
"We have to make sure we keep pushing him to become better.
"Of course he’s playing because we are missing a lot of players but he also plays because he has the ability to play.
"Now with Joe back and Scott back, the competition is high but he has to go on and play like this and we will see in which games we will use him to give him the chance to get minutes."
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