JAMIE BARJONAS hopes inspiring Rangers to Glasgow Cup success will be the next step in his Ibrox career as he looks to rise through the Light Blues ranks.

The midfielder will skipper the Gers against Celtic tonight as Billy Kirkwood’s side attempt to avoid a third straight final defeat to the Hoops.

Barjonas was part of the Rangers squad that lost 2-0 at Hampden last year but he has seen playmaker Liam Burt kick-on in recent months to progress into Mark Warburton’s first team squad.

The Gers boss is keen to give his brightest young talents a chance to impress at Murray Park and Barjonas is confident Rangers can rise to the occasion on home soil.

He said: “It is all about development for us. Of course we want to win but the boys are looking for contracts and looking to move up the stages into the 20s and into the first team.

“You see boys like Liam and Jack Thomson getting into the first team squad and training with them daily. That is a good motivation because the gaffer is willing to take not just Under-20s players but Under-17s as well.

“He trusts them and he likes young, energetic players. That gives us a lot of motivation to try our best.

“I have only trained with the first team twice so I haven’t got as much experience as Jack and Liam, they have been round a few times.

“The atmosphere around training is so positive, everyone is so energetic and they are working as hard as they can. That is where we all want to be.

“Going round and seeing the way they train is a great experience and hopefully I and a few other boys will get that chance in the future.”

It was to prove a disappointing night at Hampden twelve months ago as goals from Josh Kerr and Mark Hill consigned Rangers to defeat.

Barjonas recently put pen-to-paper on a new deal that will keep him at Murray Park until the summer of 2018 as he bids to catch Warburton’s eye in the coming months.

And the Under-17 skipper is determined to lead by example as he looks to finally get his hands on the Glasgow Cup silverware.

Barjonas said: “Every young player wants to play in big games and playing at Ibrox against Celtic in a Glasgow Cup final is going to be a great experience and really help the development of each player. It will be a big crowd and a brilliant experience.

“Last year was very, very disappointing. I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game and it was a tough experience. But hopefully we can change that this year.

“Hopefully we can go out and play a good game and get the feeling that they had last year. It must be the best feeling in the world.

“I like to dominate possession in the middle of the park and I am the captain of the team so I need to make sure that everyone is doing the best they can and are positive. I am a Rangers fan and I want to win this game more than anything.”