Rangers to trust in youth after Hutton's fine bow

Walter Smith's limited squad meant teenager was one of five youngsters on bench last Saturday

(GETTY IMAGES)

Rangers teenager Kyle Hutton will not let mistakes shake his confidence as he tries to break in to the first team this season.

Less than two minutes after the 19-year-old replaced fellow debutant James Beattie near the end of Saturday's 2-1 home win over Kilmarnock, he failed to find team-mate Sasa Papac with the most basic of passes and the ball slid out for a throw-in.

But Hutton shrugged it off and went on to impress the home support who watched the champions get the defence of their Premier League title off to a positive start.

"When you're out there playing at Ibrox, you can't let one mistake affect you," said Hutton. "You just need to keep going. I'm glad I didn't let it get to me because I showed I can recover if I slip up and I'm glad people were happy with me.

"It was nice to get on against Kilmarnock because one of my goals this season was to make my SPL debut.

"Having done that now, I just want to keep trying to get into squads, take a place on the bench and maybe get on again. Who knows? If we get a few injuries I might even get a start, and if I can do that it would be great. You always need to keep setting goals.

"At a club like this, you always need to take your chance and when I got a good half-hour at Clyde a couple of weeks ago, I knew I needed to show the gaffer what I could do.

"I did that and I feel I've kicked on from there, so now my aim is to make sure I keep progressing."

Hutton was one of five Murray Park graduates on the bench at the weekend, alongside Gregg Wylde, Andrew Shinnie, Andrew Little and Jordan McMillan.

And with manager Walter Smith working with a small squad, the teenager admits the club's younger players are relishing the chance to make their mark.

Hutton said: "All the coaching staff have told us there will be opportunities this year and the youth department is buzzing just now. It's all there for us to go out and make a name for ourselves. We just have to make sure when the time comes that we do that."

Meanwhile, Smith will make an assessment of the trial players Nacer Barazite and Georgie Welcome in a game against Partick Thistle at the club's Murray Park training ground today.

The Arsenal youngster Barazite has already impressed after playing against Glentoran in Belfast last week, although the Honduran striker Welcome has not been able to play in a match yet because of work permit problems.

The Rangers manager will also use the game to give some of the younger squad players much-needed match action. "One of the main reasons we are holding this game is to look at Nacer Barazite and Georgie Welcome and also some of our younger boys who have not had many games yet," Smith told the club's official website.

"We will wait to see what happens. It's been a bit unfair on Georgie in particular because he has not had the chance to play yet.

"You can see certain things in training but you can't make a decision until you see a player in a game. So we will have a good look at him."