Nothing will beat running out for Rangers when we’re back in the top flight

[ian1964 10,780]

.........says Ibrox playmaker Lewis MacLeod

12 Dec 2013 00:01

 

THE young midfielder is determined to help the Ibrox club secure a return to the big time as he looks to fulfil a lifetime dream.

 

 

 

LEWIS MACLEOD imagines the moment he runs down the Ibrox tunnel in 19 months’ time to a cacophony of noise.

 

He can almost feel the atmosphere as the Rangers fans roar their appreciation on returning to the big time as the 2015-16 Premiership season kicks off.

 

It will be the ultimate dream for the diamond of the Rangers youth academy and he can’t wait to live it.

 

Other young Scottish players may be seduced by offers from England or abroad but the 19-year-old has only one ambition – to complete the journey of recovery and play in the top flight

with Rangers.

 

Macleod, who hit the milestone of 50 Rangers matches last weekend, said: “There would be nothing better than playing for Rangers that first year we are back in the Premiership. That would be magnificent.

 

“I can’t wait for that and also the possibility of playing in Europe. It would be the ultimate for me.

 

“I know young players left Rangers last year because they believed it was good for their careers but I have no thoughts about doing that.”

 

Macleod rubs shoulders with the country’s top talent when he is on Scotland Under-21 duty and admits to pangs of jealousy they are either playing in the Premiership or England. He has seen the rise of Andy Robertson at Dundee United, the explosion of Ryan Gauld’s precocious talent and marvelled at the scoring exploits of Stevie May.

 

However, the teenager will bide his time and savour the moment when as expected Rangers complete three consecutive promotions to get back to familiar surroundings.

 

He said: “I’m like the odd man out as the rest of the Scotland Under-21 squad are playing at a higher level every week in either the Premiership or England.

 

“Everyone wants to play at a higher level but I want to do it with

Rangers. Hopefully that day will come and it will be fantastic when it does.

 

“It’s only 18 or 19 months away, assuming all goes well. Last season flew in for me and I’m sure the next six months will go quickly so we only have a year to go after that.

 

“I know Andy Robertson. I played against him when he was at Celtic as a young boy.

 

“He was always a good player. Last year he did well for Queen’s Park but since going to United he has progressed massively and is relishing it.

 

“Wee Gauldie is something special. He really has something about him and Stevie May is the best finisher I’ve seen. It would be great if the gaffer could maybe bring him to us!”

 

Macleod, who reached the half century in last week’s 3-0 win over Ayr, is one of the major positives for Rangers out of the horror of last year’s financial meltdown although he was always tipped to make the breakthrough.

 

He is flourishing in a much stronger side this season who are aiming for 21 consecutive wins at Stenhousemuir on Saturday as they maraud to the League One title.

 

Macleod said: “I’m delighted with the milestone. I never expected to reach 50 games so quickly.

 

“It’s only the equivalent of a full season if you take into account I was injured for three months last season.

 

“The majority of the games have been starts, which I’m proud of. I was on the bench a couple of times last month but I had been playing a few international games and was a bit tired.

 

“I prefer to play in the middle but Nicky Law and Ian Black are doing so well in there that I don’t have any disagreement.

 

“I’m happy to play anywhere. Nicky should be fine for the weekend so if I have to move back to the left I will have no problem with that.

 

“Nicky and Ian are the best combination for the team and that’s what it’s all about.

 

“I like it a lot better playing in the middle because you can get on the ball more and create. Having said that, when you play with Lee Wallace on the left you can sometimes create more from that area.

 

“It makes it much easier when you play with better players. You can tell there is a big difference in the way the team is playing this season.”

 

Rangers struggled to break down Stenhousemuir in October before Jon Daly’s goal edged the Ramsdens Cup semi-final so Macleod is anticipating another test on Saturday.

 

He said: “The artificial surface is a factor but they were up for it and it took us until late on to get our goal.

 

“That was a tough match and we don’t expect any different. We’re on a great run and want to keep it going.

 

“I don’t see why we can’t go the whole season unbeaten. It would be an amazing achievement but we can do it.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/lewis-macleod-nothing-beat-running-2917383

[Frankie 8,684]

Very positive comments from the lad...!

 

Great player!

[amms 0]

That's what you want to hear all 19 year olds say. Rapidly becoming my current favourite player.

[Darthter 542]

Some great words from McLeod. certainly appears to be very level headed.

He will have a BIG future @ Rangers!!!

[Gribz 966]

I wonder how the players who left 18 months ago feel now. We have half way through this journey back to the top and when we do get promotion it will be pretty big and the first home match will be huge yet none of them will be part of it because they jumped ship when youngster like MacLeod showed them how its done.

[Super_Ally 0]

When I saw the thread title for some reason I expected it to be the captain and though "oh this thread is gonna be fun"! :-)

[bluebear54 0]

This was good to read.

Hope he continues to improve.

He's excellent already, but he could very well end up being some player.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

great wee player and i love his attitude.

 

when we hit the prem he will be 20-21 with 100 games under his belt.

[The Real PapaBear 0]

Smart kid with good advisors it seems. If he stays with us, makes himself a regular and gets a hundred frst team games under his belt, then his future can more or less be assured, either with us or elsewhere when it's time to move to England or elsewhere. Let's hope fr our sakes that he's a stay-at-home kind, in the Davie Cooper mould.

[chilledbear 16]

http://t.co/Z6g0OuDQUH

 

Jimmy Sinclair, the academy director at Rangers, has expressed his pride at Lewis Macleod making his 50th first-team appearance for the Ibrox side but that sentiment is a far cry from what he feels towards the fates of two other past graduates.

 

They are almost out of ear-shot as it is, with Jamie Ness and Rhys McCabe both stagnating in English football.

 

The midfielders matured through the youth ranks at Rangers but became part of the exodus from the club in the summer of 2012 after the club went into administration. Ness chose to pack his bags for Stoke City and McCabe also made for Sheffield Wednesday.

 

However, far from thriving in their new environment they are now experiencing the football equivalent of Siberia; Ness has appeared in just one match for Stoke, as a substitute in a Capital One Cup tie against Swindon Town last year, while McCabe has had just two minutes of first-team action for Wednesday in the past four months.

 

Sinclair is sure that both of those players' careers would likely have been better served by staying at Ibrox. "I'm fairly certain that if Ness and McCabe had stayed they would be in the first team and staying there," said Sinclair. "I had faith in these young players and I can't hide that I'm still disappointed by their actions. Maybe these kids will look back and feel they made the wrong decision - but maybe not. I don't know because I don't converse with them anymore."

 

In contrast, Macleod has flourished in the Rangers team this season and has held on to his place despite the arrival of more experienced players. Of course, circumstances had forced Ally McCoist to dip into the academy a year ago and expedite nine players into his first team. However, it is a source of pride to Sinclair and his staff that Macleod is thriving, while Andy Little, Fraser Aird and Robbie Crawford are also key members of the squad. The coach is confident that there are more on the way.

 

"We think that we are doing a good job but often it is not accepted that we are," he said. "I don't think administration has made Rangers any less attractive to young players. You could say there has never been a better time to be a young player at Rangers."