Shock stats published reveal, depressingly unsurprisingly, that Rangers and Steven Gerrard aren’t interested in Rangers’ youth and field the worst number of kids in the Premiership by a country mile.

The disgraceful stat of just over 1% compared with Celtic’s at 18% confirms this manager’s disinterest in giving Rangers’ own blood a chance and preference for signing in loans from other clubs instead.

Just 1% of all Rangers players fielded this season up till January and the entirety of last were under 22, in numbers supporters sadly won’t be really that stunned by.

It’s really not a surprise, Rangers these past few years have been a disgrace for trusting the kids – Ally McCoist set the tone by signing in cheap dirge in 2012 rather than rebuilding from the academy, and every manager since then is exactly the same.

The writing was on the wall when the likes of the McCrorie brothers were dumped out to loan sides with Wes Foderingham retained and 23-year old Glen Kamara signed.

We can honestly say this is poor. We won’t mince our words.

Our manager, who this falls squarely on, sticks to his loyal clique, and has said much about valuing the youth but his actions speak louder than those words.

No kid under Steven Gerrard has been given an inch of a chance, which is really hypocritical given he himself had to start as one all those years ago. They all get dumped in one way or another – Hardie, Rudden, Middleton, Patterson.

We’re not expecting all our lads to be the next Steven Gerrard, but there is talent there.

Pity our manager and this club just doesn’t care.