CRAIG HOUSTON always hoped that the future would be bright. Now, it will be Oranje.

It is twelve months since Houston formed the Sons of Struth Academy and the first crop of kids pulled on their boots at New Tinto Park.

Several steps have been taken since as the efforts of Light Blue legends and committed coaches have come to fruition.

A second Academy will now open in Fife under the SoS banner but it is the deal struck with Coerver that is the most significant stride forward.

The methodology was inspired by Dutch legend Wiel Coerver and has been endorsed by the likes of Vicente del Bosque, Gerard Houllier and John Collins.

And Houston hopes the partnership with the coaching school will take the Sons of Struth setup to the next level in the coming months.

“The progress has been quicker than my initial hopes for it,” Houston told SportTimes.

“We are working through to attain SFA Quality Mark status, we have agreed to become a Coerver partnership club and we will be opening our second centre soon.

“All these things are amazing and way above where I thought we would be as we celebrate the first year of the Academy.

“We have already got three ambassadors – Marco Negri, Michael Mols and John MacDonald – and Marvin Andrews will become our fourth and will help in the Fife Academy.

“It is remarkable that these guys that we supported from the stands have been so helpful to what is a volunteer club.

“It is tremendous and the growth has been great. We won’t be far away from having 100 kids training with us once the Fife setup is up and running.

“It is fantastic and it is down to the energy and the drive of the coaches and the committees that we have formed to run the Academy. It is not the Craig Houston show.

“It is a great group of people going in the one direction with one aim and that is to give the kids that are coming to us as good an experience as possible.

“The Coerver coaching method that we will be adopting will help make them all better football players and will give our coaches a great resource in the coming months and years.”

The inspiration may be coming from the top level of the game but the Sons of Struth structure operates at grassroots level as kids take their first steps in football.

Houston rose to prominence during the boardroom battle at Rangers and has returned to coaching in the shadow of Ibrox at the home of Benburb.

He has taken inspiration from the work at the Gers’ training base and will continue to invest in the future at Auchenhowie as money raised through merchandise and the Rangers Lotto scheme are split between funding SoS setup and backing the Light Blues’ Academy.

Houston said: “Joe Jones is the Scottish technical director for Coerver and I have known him for a number of years through another project that I was involved with.

“When we started the Academy a year ago, I spoke to Joe about it. Since then, he has watched the Academy grow and get to a level that he then came to us and said the timing was right to offer us a partnership.

“The partnerships are limited in numbers and are not available to every club in the country so it is an honour just to be asked to be part of the Coerver family. It strengthens what we are trying to do and the ethos behind us.

“At Auchenhowie, it is Coerver coaching for the Academy kids and this is another bit of synergy with what Rangers are doing.

“We have been up at the Academy, the coaches and the kids, several times over the last few months. What I have seen there has been very impressive.

“The level of attention to detail, the coaching methods, the session planning, is very, very good. It gives us something to strive for as a youth football club. This is another big step in that direction.”

Having turned his dream into a reality and seen the Academy flourish, Houston hopes the stars of the future will now be able to realise their own ambitions.

Kids aged between six and 11, and of all abilities, turn out each week for the sessions with the group of SoS coaches.

The system has progressed significantly in its first year and now the foundations are in place for the players to enhance their skills.

“If we can get 100 kids in, keep them fit and learning through our Academy that in itself would be pleasing,” Houston said.

“But, in the future, if we could see someone go on and become a professional football player that would be terrific.

“There are a lot of boys clubs out there that strive to win cups and get all the best players on board. We are more forward thinking.

“If we can get people in to other youth systems and advance them then that is our trophy. “We look at the quality of player that we develop and where they end up once they leave our club.

“If we feel there are kids that can go on to another level and be coached by better coaches then we would be delighted to see them progress.”

It is the ambition of everyone involved at grassroots level to see one of their players climb through the ranks and forge a career for themselves in the game.

Only time will tell if anyone that follows the SoS blueprint will go on to become a star for club and country.

But Houston is confident kids across the nation can reach the heights they aspire to and get the rewards for their efforts.

Houston said: “The raw talent is there. We can moan about the facilities but, to be fair, the facilities are better than when we were producing Jim Baxter and Davie Cooper.

“The facilities could be improved but they aren’t an excuse. The only missing link I see is getting kids playing enough football and giving them the quality of coaching that they deserve.

“When I was a kid you were out training every other night and you were playing in the streets. Kids aren’t doing that these days.

“So if we are not putting the hours in we have to make sure we put the quality in.

“That was one of the reasons I felt getting the Coerver partnership was important because it ensures you are delivering quality training to the kids in your academy.”