WILSON’S GUTTED AT COLTS PLAN KO
Rangers chief Ross Wilson claims Scottish football is missing a trick by opposing Old Firm Colts teams playing in the SPFL lower leagues.
The Premiership champions and rivals Celtic see the move for their second strings as vital to aid player development.
But the controversial proposal has been met with fierce opposition from bosses in League One and League Two.
Ibrox sporting director Wilson is respectful of those clubs’ opinions but also believes Scottish football is missing out by not adopting the model.
Speaking on the club’s YouTube channel, he said: “The B teams as we call them, rather than Colts, is a programme of player development we fundamentally believe in.
“It goes without saying that we are disappointed that, as a country, we have still not made any headway on that.
“It’s something we’ve given huge backing to because player development should sit at the heart of Scottish football and we feel as a country we are missing a key part in young players’ development, particularly in the ages of 17 and 21.
“It’s no coincidence so many countries throughout Europe have gone in that direction. But we also understand that in the lower leagues in particular, there are fans and friends who don’t buy into that model and we have to respect that.
“What we would always say is we want player development at the heart of a national strategy and we don’t see that strongly enough.
“What we’ve spoken about in terms of B teams isn’t plucked from thin air, it’s something based on strong research and models that work throughout Europe.
“We want Scottish football to be open-minded to that, as we are open-minded to anybody who wants to come forward with an alternative model.
“But we’re not seeing that at the moment and we would love to see player development sit much higher up the agenda.”