Kris Boyd slams Rangers over Bailey Rice treatment since arrival from Motherwell
Rangers legend Kris Boyd has slammed the club for the treatment that Bailey Rice has received since his move from Motherwell.
The 18-year-old has featured in just three Scottish Premier League matches across three seasons since his £500,000 move and is yet to make an appearance for the senior team this campaign.
The outspoken former Gers striker compared Rice’s situation to that of his former academy teammate Lennon Miller who is thriving at Fir Park and being linked with a move to Rangers, Celtic and Liverpool.
In an interview with the Scottish Sun [page 51, 20 November], Boyd lambasted the club’s youth development strategy, saying: “There might be talented kids in there, but as soon as they get to an age they are stifled, and they can’t make that big breakthrough.”
“Look at Bailey Rice, when he was at Motherwell, there wasn’t much between him and Lennon Miller. Gers decided to take Rice and the pathway has been blocked for him.
“Whether he’s good enough remains to be seen because he’s never really been in that first-team environment.”
Bailey Rice needs to show he deserves Rangers chance
Constant chaos on and off the field at Ibrox has meant that it has not been an easy task for Philippe Clement to integrate young players into his team since he took over as Gers boss.
The Belgian manager has shown that is willing to trust youth if they prove they can hold their own in the Premiership and the Europa League.
If Rice is as highly rated as Boyd suggests he should be then he will almost definitely be given a chance when the manager feels that he is ready to make an impact on the first-team squad.
Clement has shown that he has no problem giving young talents first-team opportunities as he has shown when implementing Ross McCausland into the starting XI over the past year.
At just 18-years-old. Rice has plenty of time to force his way into the Gers first-team equation and the worst thing that the club is do is rush him into the picture before he is ready.
Ultimately, the player needs to keep working on the training pitch and trying to impress and his time will come when the management feel that he is equipped to step up.
In other Rangers news, The Belgian FA has made a decision on Gers manager Philippe Clement.
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