BILLY KIRKWOOD hopes the Glasgow Cup final tonight is the first step on the road to glory for his Rangers kids.

The Light Blues Under-17's face Old Firm rivals Celtic at Hampden aiming to gain revenge for defeat at Parkhead last season.

Rangers have won the Glasgow Cup four times in the last six years and will use the latest showpiece final as the next valuable step in the learning process for the Murray Park squad.

The game will be played behind closed doors at the National Stadium but Kirkwood knows it will still be a night to remember for his Gers kids as they look to catch the eye and continue on the road to potential first team stardom.

He said: "It's nice to win these games but it is not the be all and end all, it's more important they learn from the games and those throughout the competition and how to prepare themselves for the final game.

"Hopefully it is educating them on how to be a Rangers first-team player because they will be challenging in years to come in cup finals and for championships as well.

"When you're preparing 16 and 17-year-olds to walk out at Hampden it's with kid gloves and trying to keep them calm but that is part of their education, some of them will handle it very well and some will get really excited.

"So you need to get your thinking head on and your finger on the pulse and look at them as a parent and look at how they react on a daily basis - is he going to get nervous, is he going to handle it properly and is he going to prepare properly?

"That is part of their education and that is what they want to do as a full-time football player and the maturity they will need to play in finals.

"So from a young age they are going to learn how to handle themselves leading up to this game."

The Old Firm make the trip across Glasgow with one win each from their two encounters this season and eager to get their name on the famous silverware.

The likes of Light Blues kids Robbie and Ross McCrorie and midfielder Liam Burt are highly regarded at youth level and could be given a chance to shine tonight.

And boss Kirkwood hopes his Auchenhowie protégés can follow in the footsteps of two starlets who have made their big breakthrough in recent weeks.

"We have a really good squad and they have all been competing really well in the league games so it will be a difficult decision as to who starts the game and who will be on the bench," he told rangers.co.uk.

"Ryan Hardie has played in this final and Tom Walsh played in this final a couple of seasons ago so the young kids can see there is a route to the Rangers first team by competing in these games and performing well.

"The bottom line is we want to educate the boys in being a professional football player but you educate them in being winners too."