Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack comes off the bench for Scotland in a frenetic 3-3 draw against Norway.
The resurgent Ibrox star – who continues to be the subject of much new contract debate – played just over 10 minutes of regulation time at Hampden.
But whilst there is cause for celebration as the curtain comes down on Scotland’s successful bid for a place at Euro 2024, the appearance is a stark reminder to Rangers.
In a time when a greater emphasis than ever is on homegrown players for the European stage, Rangers’ lack of Scotland involvement exemplifies the club’s shortcomings.
Ryan Jack Rangers reminder in Scotland v Norway
Ryan Jack is the only Scotland regular in the Rangers squad, the appearance against Norway his 17th for the country.
At a time when pockets of Ibrox fans often find themselves at odds with the Scotland national team, you’ll hear some mild resentment over the fact the midfielder is even playing under Steve Clarke at all.
But the fact that Ryan Jack has played only 11 minutes in 180 minutes of football in Scotland clashes with Georgia and Norway speaks volumes.
The Scotland squad is a decent barometer of the level of homegrown talent Rangers have in their ranks and at present the club’s best Scottish players are barely getting onto the pitch.
Goalkeeper Robby McCrorie – whose been told to start playing regular first-team football or forget it by Scotland boss Clarke – never played a minute during the break.
John Souttar remains very highly-regarded at Scotland level, as he does at Rangers, but injury problems ruled him out of the latest squad and continue to plague the centre-back’s career.
The other homegrown option in the Rangers squad is winger Scott Wright, who actively tried to leave Ibrox in the summer to boost his national team hopes but is nowhere to be seen at this level.
Nathan Patterson – who could bank Rangers up to £16m after moving to Everton in 2021 – started the match v Norway but the Academy star is no longer at the club.Ryan Jack minutes v Norway a stark Scotland reminder to Rangers
Rangers homegrown failure
What this essentially means is that Rangers need to start securing the best homegrown talent before they reach the bright lights of the Premier League.
More than that, the club need to start taking more gambles on the better performers in the Scottish Premiership.
There is some irony at play here too; the perception is that Scottish-based players might help us regain a domestic foothold but on the continental stage won’t help us take the next step.
Regardless, it’s clear the club need more homegrown players to offer greater balance in the team, as evidenced by this year’s Europa League squad.
Don’t just take our word for it either; only at last year’s AGM was former Rangers Sporting Director Ross Wilson claiming the club had to do better on the homegrown front.
As a result there are several players in that Scotland team who have been linked to Rangers in recent times.
As Ryan Jack came off the bench for Scotland against Norway, so did Bologna star Lewis Ferguson, a boyhood bluenose released by the club’s Academy.
Now outwith Rangers’ reach, it’s a story which is also true of links to the likes of Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Josh Doig (Verona) and most recently Lawrence Shankland (Hearts).
To offer us the best chance against European homegrown quotas we quite simply need to boast the best homegrown options.
I don’t think anyone at Rangers can claim that we’re doing that at present and the Scotland clashes with Georgia and Norway are a stark reminder of that fact.
Rangers to their credit have instead heavily focused on the Academy – with mixed results – and one young Ger sent Philippe Clement a reminder this week.
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