EXCLUSIVE

THE gap between youth football and the first-team game proves too difficult to bridge for many up-and-coming talents. Now, Lewis Mayo is preparing for his leap of faith.

The defender is not afraid of a challenge on the park and he will not be daunted by the task ahead of him as he looks to one day clinch a Rangers shirt and realise his boyhood ambition.

Mayo was rewarded with a new three-year contract in October and knows that is his window of opportunity now as he attempts to continue his ranks through the Light Blue ranks.

That transition is arguably the most crucial of any player’s career and the aim for Rangers is to help the next generation go from Auchenhowie prospect to Ibrox stalwart as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

For Mayo, that is the ultimate ambition. In the coming years, he will look to turn his dream into a reality.

“I was delighted to sign the contract and I have signed until I am 21, which effectively takes me past Reserve football and into men’s football,” Mayo told SportTimes.

“That is a big personal milestone for me so I have now got the next couple of years to crack on, to keep working hard every day and see where it takes me. Hopefully I will end up in the first team.

“Everyone is different and this age bracket can be confusing because some boys make the jump quickly and others take longer and need to take different routes.

“If a player ever feels, between them and the coaches, that it is right to go on loan to get that experience, Rangers will do that to help us. It is very individual. Some players might need to go on loan, some might not, and the locations and levels are very specific to the player.”

The contract that Mayo was handed a few weeks ago was a vote of confidence from Rangers and confirmation of the high hopes that staff at the Hummel Training Centre have for him.

The stopper hasn’t been able to repay that faith since, though, after being forced from the park into the treatment room.

Mayo is confident he will be back in action soon, however, and able to continue on an upward trajectory as he looks to pick up where he left off.

“It was a bit of a setback but I am working hard and I am close to training,” he said. “In terms of the season, it is not going to affect me and, after Christmas, I will be flying again and raring to go.

“It started a few months ago with a knock I got on my shin and I had a haematoma on my shin. From there it developed into damage of the bone underneath and it got quite tender so I needed to take a step back and let it settle.

“I was playing at a high level before it happened in terms of the games I was playing in and training and I don’t think this will affect that.

“When I get back playing