CRAIG MULHOLLAND is confident more Light Blue hopefuls can make the step up into Pedro Caixinha’s first team squad in the coming months.

The Rangers boss has put his faith in defensive duo David Bates and Myles Beerman in recent weeks after captain Lee Wallace and Clint Hill both picked up injuries.

The pair helped Caixinha’s side keep clean sheets against Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Partick Thistle and made their Old Firm bows against Celtic last weekend.

Rangers host their city counterparts at Ibrox this afternoon in the final derby fixture of the campaign and Bates and Beerman are in line to retain their starting spots.

Left-back Beerman has caught the eye in his first few outings in Light Blue and Academy chief Mulholland believes there are more young talents waiting in the wings.

“When the manager first came in he took five or six youth players with him on the first day to train,” he told RangersTV.

“We have had 13 or 14 players who have now trained with the first-team who maybe hadn’t previously.

“For the rest of the academy players seeing Myles gives them a great aspiration to go and achieve it.

“Myles has demonstrated so far that he is able to go and cope with the demands of first-team football.

“We need to make sure over the next 18 months, as part of this project, that we have many more players who can make the step up too.

“We brought Myles from Manchester City and people think the academy is about just developing talent but it is also about recruitment.

“We have to make sure we are recruiting the best young players, not just from Scotland but beyond, and bringing them into our environment and developing them, adding value and getting them towards the first-team.

“Myles has been a great example of that and we must remember he has only just turned 18 and we need to make sure in two years’ time that Myles is a really strong athlete that is competing every week at first-team level.”