RANGERS already have the bricks and mortar but now Craig Mulholland is relaying the foundations at Murray Park.

As part of the new blueprint laid out by boss Mark Warburton, the Gers’ Head of Academy is building for a brighter future.

It will take time, money and effort, but the rewards will be worth it if Mulholland and his staff can make the dream a reality.

Of the hundreds of kids who make their way through the crested gates of Auchenhowie, only a handful will ever get the chance to walk down the tunnel at Ibrox.

The work of Mulholland may be done largely out of sight, and probably out of mind for most supporters, but it is crucial to Rangers’ success in the coming years as the club look to continue - and fine tune - the Murray Park production line.

As Rangers strive for improvement, inspiration has been taken from across Europe. But it is within the walls of their training base where the plans are being put in place.

“When you look at Rangers, we have got a super environment in terms of the facility we have got at the Academy,” Mulholland said.

“We are a big football club so when you go across Europe, people recognise our name and want to come and play for us.

“If we can get the playing style right and the culture right, and that is about respect, discipline, it is about every player that comes through the blue gates being desperate to be a footballer.

“It is also about recruitment and recruiting the right type of players who can look after the ball, they must be footballers first, that is an absolute priority.

“If we can get that right, then there is no reason why we can’t become one of the top academies in Europe.

“We have been to loads now and every time I go somewhere different and I look at National Associations or academies, the one thing that comes back to me is that we shouldn’t copy anyone.

“I think we need to get a style that is right for our country and right for our club.

“We will take the best bits from everywhere else, of course we will, why wouldn’t you take the best bits?

“But at the same time we need to get a culture that is right for us and not copy anyone else.”

Having identified their own style and ethos, Rangers must now put the theory into practice as they bid to produce the next generation of Ibrox stars.

The likes of Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton and Barry Ferguson have all emerged through the Gers ranks in years gone by, while Barrie McKay is the shining light for the current crop to follow.

The system has proven to be a success so far, but Mulholland is determined to do better, and he insists getting players into the first team will not be the only measure of their strike rate.

“We have not designated it that way,” he said, after the Rangers Youth Development Company handed over another £175,000 to the club for use at Auchenhowie.

“I have set everyone in the Academy a target. We are sitting about number 30 in Europe just now in terms of where we are ranked.

“That is based on how many players you produce whot play in the top 30 leagues in Europe.

“We have set the target of getting into the top 15. When I first said it, people were saying ‘that is a bit ambitious, are we going to get in the top 15?’

“But when you look at the clubs that are there, I am absolutely sure we can go and achieve that. That is the target for us.

“It might mean so many players one year and so many another year but we have got to be ambitious and we have got to produce a better quality of player for the club and the country than we have done in the past.”

If Mulholland’s goals are reached and he can raise the standard of players being produced at Murray Park, it won’t just be Rangers who will benefit in the years to come.

The Light Blues continue to search near and far as they attempt to snap up the top young talents as early as possible to mould them into Rangers players of the future.

No market and no prospect will be counted out, but it is those on our doorstep that the focus is on as the Gers look to give homegrown kids a chance to shine.

Mulholland said: “We must get the best players in Scotland first, that is an absolute given. Then we look beyond that in the UK.

“The research now suggests that any player that moves to a different country below the age of 21 is much less likely to succeed at the club that they move to.

“So the research suggests that you should stay in your home country until the age of 21.

“We need to make sure that we have got the best players in Scotland first, and then the UK.

“But we do look at other countries, of course we do. Our priority must be Scotland first.”

It is not just at Rangers where the focus is very much fixed on youth development, with clubs across the country spending more time and effort than ever on bringing their own players through the ranks.

In the aftermath of another failure for our national side, the spotlight always shines on those at the bottom of the ladder as the academy system is put under the microscope.

And Mulholland admits changes have to be made if we are to give ourselves the best possible chance of success on the international stage sooner rather than later.

He said: “It has got to get better. There is a big debate about youth football, I met with (SFA Performance Director) Brian McClair the other day and spent an hour and a half with him.

“In this country, up to Under-17s, I think we have got a lot right. That transition from 17s to first team is a big area we need to change and look at in terms of the competition we give the players and also the environment around the players in that Under-20s area.

“If we can get that bit right, there is talent in the country. But right now I am not sure we have got that bit right yet.”