YOU won't win anything with kids.

Well, not if you don't play them you won't.

Rangers may well complete 'The Journey' in the coming weeks but the feeling that it has in some ways been a wasted one will still come to the fore in the aftermath of any celebrations.

Victory over Dumbarton on Saturday moved Stuart McCall's side four points clear of Hibernian in the Championship standings and put them just two games and two wins, at most, away from claiming the second tier consolation prize this season.

The fact that Rangers proved too strong for a Sons side that are seventh in the table was no great surprise, but the man who earned it was a shock to the system and a bolt from the Light Blue.

Ryan Hardie had just 37 minutes of first team experience to his name before the trip to the Rock after substitute appearances against Falkirk in September and Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South earlier this month.

The 18-year-old would have woken up on Saturday morning delighted just to have a seat on the team bus and hoping to take up a seat on the bench.

After being handed his first start and scoring his first two goals for the club, the feelings on the journey home would have been somewhat different for the striker.

Hardie may only have found out 90 minutes before kick-off that he would be leading the line alongside Nicky Clark, which was too late for his parents to get from Stranraer in time to see their boy in action, but he had been in McCall's thoughts since the middle of last week.

It was a bold and brave call by the Ibrox boss to pitch an untried and untested, if highly rated, kid into a must-win game for Rangers but the gamble paid off, and in some style.

After falling behind to a Mark Wilson strike inside two minutes, Hardie pulled Rangers level and then set them on the road to victory as he showed pace and determination to score his first goal for the Light Blues and then imagination and skill to double his tally just after the break.

It was a performance that not only delighted the travelling Gers support, but would have heartened them as they saw another kid living the dream and emerging through the ranks.

But it would also, to an extent, just like the showings of a series of young talents in recent, have puzzled them.

Why did it take until it was almost too late this season for the kids to be given a chance? Why did they not get a shot against lesser opposition in the previous two seasons?

Like with everything that has surrounded the club in the last couple of years, there are more questions than there will be answers.

Hardie was joined in the starting line-up by Tom Walsh and Andy Murdoch and was replaced with five minutes to go by Calum Gallagher, the young forward who impressed in League One last season, scored goals for Cowdenbeath this term and has barely been seen since returning to Ibrox several months ago.

Robbie Crawford also took up a spot on the bench at the weekend while Ryan Sinnamon has been in McCall's thinking. Elsewhere, Barrie McKay remains on loan at Raith, where he has made 23 appearances and Danny Stoney is aiding Stranraer's push for a place in the Championship.

Just hours after Rangers collected the three points, an Ibrox player was picking up silverware as Luca Gasparotto collected the Airdrieonians Young Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year prizes at the Diamonds' end of season awards.

Since moving to Lanarkshire in September, the Canadian has made 25 appearances in League One, the same division Rangers won at a canter last term and fielded Lee McCulloch, Bilel Mohsni and Sebastien Faure on a regular basis.

As the same faces were seen week in week out, and failed to deliver on too many occasions, for most of this campaign, the clamour to inject some fresh blood into the side grew amongst supporters.

The Ibrox kids were old enough and in their own ways they are now proving that they are good enough.

Nobody will ever know if having Gasparotto at the back, Murdoch and Crawford in midfield and Walsh, Gallagher and Hardie in attack on a more regular basis would have given Rangers a realistic chance of getting within sight of Hearts this season.

But they would not have done any worse than those highly experienced and highly paid players who let supporters down and failed to deliver when it mattered.

Having been given their chance by McCall, the Murray Park products could now give Rangers the impetus to get over the line and clinch their Premiership return.

While expectations and demands remain as high as ever at Ibrox, fans will always give young, promising talents an easier time of it when the going gets tough.

If McCall chooses to stick by kids, the next 180 minutes of action will be their biggest assignments to date as Rangers set their sights on second spot.

Four points clear with just two games - at home to Falkirk and away to Hearts on the final day - left to play, Rangers' destiny is still in their own hands thanks to a weekend win that was as deserved as it was crucial, and should have been more comfortable.

The focus from McCall will be on what his side do, how his players perform and what results they earn but he will travel to Livingston on Wednesday night, to the venue where Rangers dropped two points in midweek, to see if the Lions can give the Light Blues a helping hand.

Defeat for Hibs would mean Rangers head into the Bairns clash at the weekend knowing victory is all that is required to move them another step closer to the Premiership.

It would be the perfect stage for the Ibrox kids to shine on yet again.