READY. The motto of Rangers is a way of life at Ibrox. It is also a challenge.
Rangers are now taking it on in a different manner and with a fresh approach. If successful, it will be one that others surely follow as the Auchenhowie academy seek to lead the way for the success of the club and the betterment of the country.
The launch of 'Rangers READY' came on the day that it was revealed another revamp of the League structure in our game is on the cards. That blueprint deals with the final steps that players must take but the latest innovation from Craig Mulholland and his staff starts at the very beginning of the journey.
The programme will see Rangers launch centres in seven locations across the country as children aged between six and nine are given access to sessions that will allow them to grow and learn in a playful and creative way as the club forge new links at the grassroots of the game. Designed by Zeb Jacobs, the Head of Academy Coaching, it will allow kids to develop a love of the game without the pressures of a professional environment.
It is a concept that has taken inspiration from Jacobs' work in Belgium and from Harry Watling's time at Chelsea as well as research that has been conducted in Germany. It is not a community scheme as such, but it will give Rangers a presence in areas that they have not previously been able to influence.
That clout will be used for the greater good. There will be no retention or release for the youngsters that participate and every block will see all players leave the centre at the end of the period and new invites issued for the following school term.
“As one of the biggest clubs in the country, we know we’ve got some of the best kids from the Glasgow area," Mulholland said. “I think it’s 58 per cent of the Academy graduates who have played for the first team over the last few seasons have all come from within an hour of the training ground.
“In one sense that’s great as we know we’re getting this area right. But every time we play Aberdeen we see one or two boys who we think is an outstanding talent.
“Aberdeen have had that city to themselves for quite a long time. Dundee and United have had their city to themselves too. We well want the best players not just in the Glasgow area, but Scotland."
That search for the top talents in the country must be part of the Rangers way of working regardless of the level. The READY scheme could one day produce first team players but that is not the modus operandi for a programme that focuses on enjoyment and engagement as part of the learning process.
Such is the eagerness to remove any expectations on or from the participants, all the branding associated with READY will not include the Rangers logo and the ambition is to create a different kind of affinity with the club that could potentially see players join the youth system further down the line.
The existing model of labelling kids at six or seven as 'elite' doesn't sit right and the focus on 1v1 and 3v3 sessions is designed to forge a love of the game first and foremost. From the moment children and their guardians arrive at one of the centres, it should be evident that this is a programme with a different outlook that is operating with different parameters.
“I was recently out at the ECA listening to Monaco, who have something similar," Mulholland said. "They’re based in the south of France but go all the way up to Paris with a similar concept.
“Sporting Lisbon have hundreds of centres all the way through Portugal to make sure they get the best kids.
“So to answer the question, will other clubs like the fact we’re coming to their cities they’ve had to themselves? Probably not.
“But with the ambition we’ve got to get the best talent in, I think it’s something we should do.
“They key part is that, however, we’re not going to ask any of these kids to sign. We don’t believe in it.
"We’ve all seen clubs with banners up saying ‘here’s our elite Under-7s squad’. But the kid might only have been playing for 12 months, so how can they be elite? It’s bonkers.”
The READY blueprint has been almost a year in the making at Auchenhowie. Youth development is naturally a long term game but Rangers are thinking even further into the future with an innovation that could be the starting point for so many careers at so many levels of the game.
The ultimate ambition must be to reach the pinnacle and producing players for the first team at Ibrox remains the goal for Mulholland and those that he oversees through a structure that has benefitted from significant investment in recent seasons.
Rangers have been strong advocates of B Teams for some time and David McCallum's side currently sit second in the Lowland League. Celtic, also in their second term in the competition, are third and Hearts are 14th in their debut campaign at that level.
Plans for a new fifth tier to sit below League Two - comprising of clubs from the Highland and Lowland Leagues and four Colt teams - have now been drawn up. The Conference proposal will spark widespread debate but Mulholland believes the evidence from abroad is compelling.
“I think so," Mulholland said when asked if Scottish football was missing a trick. "It’s a key part for the country.
“We’ve been on record for ages now pushing for B Teams. The CIES Football Observatory looked at the top 10 clubs who produced players for the recent Qatar World Cup and the one thing they had in common is that they have B Teams.
“I’m not saying it’s a panacea to cure all ills, it’s not. But it’s clearly a contributing factor.
“If you look at this country, there is provision up to Under-18s but the gap from there to the first team is massive. As a country we need to fill that gap.
“All your top players in the Champions League are exposed to some form of men’s football around the age of 17.5.
“So we need the best young Scottish talent to be doing the same in a competitive fixture with crowds on a Saturday.
“When we go to ECA conferences and speak to other sporting directors, they all say [B Teams] is a debate we had 10 years ago. Are we lagging behind? Yeah, basically.
“It’s not just your Spains that are doing it, it’s countries of similar populations to us like Croatia. Their success rate of getting players from B Teams to play for the international team which has taken them to World Cup finals and semi-finals lately is incredible."
The Conference idea is the latest one that has been put forward in an attempt to solve a long-standing issue in Scottish football as players continue to struggle to make the required progress from the ages of 17 to 21.
Ibrox boss Michael Beale questioned the suitability of the Lowland League as a proving ground for Rangers' best young players earlier this season. For Mulholland, a burgeoning B Team in a competitive environment would be a positive step in the right direction.
“We’re very respectful to the Lowland League," Mulholland said. "They gave us an opportunity and we’re grateful for it.
“But the fact is that our guys are looking to break into a team that’s playing in the Champions League and at the top end of the Premiership, so the Lowland League being five divisions down is a big gap. But if you’re Bailey Rice at 16 and playing men every single week that is a positive experience.
“Last year we had a record number of graduates play in the first team. But had Alex Lowry, Leon King and Adam Devine been elsewhere on loan and not here in the building, those opportunities wouldn’t have come.
“The ideal model for us is a B Team that competes at a really challenging level and gets exposure."
