WALTER SMITH has a huge call to make tonight when he names his team to face Unirea in the Champions League.

WALTER SMITH has a huge call to make tonight when he names his team to face Unirea in the Champions League.

The Rangers manager isn't known for throwing young players in at the deep end but he has suggested 17-year-old defender Danny Wilson is in line to start his first ever European tie over in Romania.

As someone who was pitched into the heat of battle as a raw 16-year-old many years ago when I not only played for Rangers against Celtic in the final of the League Cup at Hampden Park, but scored to help secure a victory, I'm well qualified to comment on this subject.

And my advice to Walter Smith would be to name the youngster in his starting line-up and see if he has what it takes to come out the other end.

There is nothing that makes me fear he doesn't have the attributes to hold his own at that level.

Wilson is a player who has been highly rated by the Rangers management for some time. His name has been mentioned in the last few years as someone with the potential to become a top player at Ibrox in the same way as we heard a great deal about John Fleck before he made the breakthrough.

From what I've heard about him, he is a quiet lad and extremely level-headed. I don't think there is any danger of him allowing his call-up to the first team to go to his head.

Any time I've watched him play for the Rangers youth sides he has always caught the eye and looked the part. That was the case last week when he started against Dundee in the Co-operative Insurance Cup at Dens Park.

And Walter Smith was impressed enough by his performance to keep him in the team for the trip to Tannadice on Sunday to take on Dundee United. Even up there, in dreadful conditions, Wilson was impressive. So why not give him a start tonight?

Maybe, as a nation, we are a little too reluctant to play young players in the first-team. But look at the results Motherwell have picked up so far this season with a team packed with teenagers. Mark McGhee has also handed some really young players an opportunity up at Aberdeen. I don't think the kids have let themselves down.

Hibs are another club who have given youth players a platform to express their skills in the past and last season James McCarthy, Brian Easton and James McArthur performed really well for Hamilton Accies.

The difference, of course, is these clubs aren't expected to win championships and cup competitions like the Old Firm. They can get away with making mistakes and having bad games. The environment at Rangers and Celtic is not quite as forgiving.

But what other options does Smith have? If Lee McCulloch is fully fit, I'd be tempted to go with him in the middle of the park.

It is, without any shadow of a doubt, a massive game for Rangers. I believe they are already playing for a place in the Europa League. I don't see Rangers finishing in second place behind Sevilla to progress to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

As things stand, Rangers are at the foot of the table with just one point from their opening three games. Even if they do manage to win in Romania tonight, they aren't going to win 4-1 or 5-1 so Unirea will have a better head-to-head record.

So it's all about getting enough points on the board to remain in Europe. If Rangers can come through this Champions League campaign, and then embark on a Europa League run, then it would boost the finances at a time when the club need every penny that they can get their hands on.

I'm sure one or two of the Rangers players, perhaps more of them, will believe they can still finish in second place. In order to do so, they will have to win tonight and then defeat Stuttgart at Ibrox in the following group game.

Not impossible, of course. But it's a tall order. Four points from those two games would be a more realistic target.

It will, however, require a far better performance than the last one Rangers produced in Europe.

Referee right to call a halt

IT was a tough call for referee Mike Tumilty on Sunday when was forced to abandon Dundee United's clash with Rangers.

When the match kicked off, the pitch was certainly playable.

However, the rain didn't stop and within 15 minutes or so you could see the ball holding up at certain areas which made it dangerous for both sets of players.

If he decided to play on, and someone sustained a serious injury, he would have been slaughtered for not stopping the game.

So it was probably a sensible decision when you look at things that way.

What I would say, however, is supporters must be taken into consideration.

If the forecast is for heavy rain, and the pitch is in doubt, maybe a game should be called off earlier in the day to prevent fans from travelling up and down the country in dangerous conditions.

Rangers, and Celtic for that matter, have fans who travel from the likes of Northern Ireland and England to take in their games.

They are the ones who suffer most when games are cancelled at short notice and abandoned, like Sunday.

With the game live on TV, everyone is under pressure to try and get the game on as the money generated from live matches it vital to Scottish football.

However, it's the fans you have to feel sorry for.

Celtic have a mountain to climb

CELTIC have it all to do if they are to qualify from their Europa League group, and they will need to defeat Hamburg in Germany tomorrow.

It's a tall order against one of the top sides in the Bundesliga, but if the Parkhead men fail, their European adventure may be over.

Like Rangers, Celtic have found it tough in Europe this season, and maybe it is a sign of the times. The Old Firm no longer have the financial power to put together teams that can compete with some of the best.

If I was to bet on the outcome of tomorrow night's encounter I'd need to bet against Celtic.

But Celtic have some players in good form. Aiden McGeady is their most dangerous player in most games, while Georgios Samaras netted in the win over Kilmarnock.

They have a host of players who have performed in the Champions League and should know what is expected in Germany. If Celtic hit form, they'll have a chance but it's going to be a tough for them to qualify.