During his first spell in charge at Ibrox, Smith handed European debuts to 19-year-old Scott Wilson and 20-year-old Greg Shields in a home match against Ajax. In truth, it was a move prompted by necessity rather than choice, but the pair played well enough to justify their inclusion.
Now Smith faces a similar decision regarding Danny Wilson. Until recently, Wilson had become like Rangers’ answer to The Wizard of Oz: always spoken about but never seen.
Injuries to Madjid Bougherra and Lee McCulloch, and the need to give David Weir a rest, handed the 17-year-old his first-team debut in last week’s Co-operative Insurance Cup tie against Dundee, doing well enough to retain his place for the league match at Dundee United the following Sunday.
Now he stands on the cusp of making his Champions League debut against Unirea Urziceni this evening, a month before his 18th birthday and in a unique central defensive partnership with Weir, a player 22 years his senior.
Weir has been warmed by Wilson’s quick assimilation to the senior game and believes the younger man has the temperament and ability to cope with the step up from youth football.
“I think Danny has done very well,” he said. “We don’t want to expect too much from him but he has come in and done so well. That speaks volumes for him and shows he’s capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of him keeping it going and taking the opportunities when they come along. He’s done that and handled it really well.
“He’s not the type of lad that gets carried away or starts to think he has achieved more than he’s achieved. He has kept his feet on the ground, he listens and, hopefully, he will go from strength to strength.
“Is Danny ready for Europe? Of course he is. He has got to be because that is the level we are at. We’ve got to use the players here and, based on what I’ve seen so far from Danny, he is capable of handling it.
“John Fleck, Jordan McMillan and Andy Little are all capable, too. Obviously, there will be times when they make mistakes and things don’t go quite so well. But that can happen if you are 37 or 17.”
Weir acknowledged there is a gulf between youth and first-team football and felt that self-confidence was as vital an attribute as ability.
“It is a big step up, but these lads have come through the Under-19s and reserves and got used to playing. Obviously, the first team is a different level but they are well prepared for it.
“When they come in, they have got to believe they are ready for it. Otherwise they will struggle. I think that’s the biggest part of it: being confident enough to know you can do it.
“There is no secret: with the way things are here, and with the squad being so small, there are going to be opportunities for these boys. That’s a positive for Rangers and it’s a great chance for these boys to come and make their mark. That would give us something to be proud about and positive about.”
Weir was not one for making a big deal of the age gap between him and Wilson. “I understand people looking in and finding that unusual. But I still think of myself as 17 as well. I appreciate what people say and I suppose it is an unbelievable age gap. But I just treat him as one of my team-mates and I’m sure he does the same to me. We don’t think about the age difference and just try to do the best we can.”
Weir emerged ashen-faced from the Ibrox dressing room following the 4-1 defeat to Unirea a fortnight ago to offer his view that Rangers’ performance on the night was far below what was acceptable.
He has been heartened, though, by recent league displays against Hibernian and Dundee United and hoped the Ibrox side could extend that upward trajectory by winning in Bucharest this evening.
“I wouldn’t say it was a freak night as that makes it look like we played all right and we maybe deserved more but I don’t think we deserved anything out of the game,” he added. “The scoreline was a bit harsh on us but I don’t think we played well enough to take anything out of the game.
“We hadn’t been playing well enough but, apart from the Sevilla match, we hadn’t lost many games. But we hadn’t been playing well. However, since the Unirea game we’ve played a bit better against Hibs and Dundee United.
“We have been looking a bit more like ourselves so, hopefully, that was the wake-up call we needed. There had to be a response because losing at home is not acceptable, regardless of the competition.”
Victory this evening would maintain Rangers’ hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League and Weir, for one, has not given up on that dream.
“If everybody is honest, we all expected the group to pan out with Sevilla taking the majority of the points because of the quality they’ve got. But second spot is still up for grabs, although we’ve made it tough for ourselves by losing two home games – they’re the ones you think you have a better chance of winning.”
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