Why Rangers may be baffled by Craig Mulholland’s latest call for change in Scotland

Rangers are now watching from the sidelines as former academy chief Craig Mulholland outlines what he believes needs to change within Scottish football.

Mulholland, who is currently the Scottish FA’s chief football officer, previously spent a significant part of his career at Ibrox. He was responsible for the Rangers academy for eight years before departing the club in 2023.

His latest proposals are focused on improving the pathway for young Scottish players, with the SFA considering financial rewards and potential sanctions to encourage clubs to give more opportunities to homegrown talent.

One suggestion would see minimum requirements introduced for Under-21 players in domestic competitions, including possible targets for the number of minutes played in the Premiership.

However, Mulholland’s recommendations have raised eyebrows at his former club, particularly given the questions that surrounded Rangers’ academy output during his time in charge.

Mulholland’s Rangers academy record

Mulholland spent roughly two decades at Rangers, working in a variety of roles before becoming academy director.

Although the club produced several promising players during that period, only a small number went on to establish themselves at Ibrox.

Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour were among the most notable graduates. Patterson went on to earn a move to Everton, while Gilmour eventually joined Brighton after leaving Chelsea, although he did not make a first-team appearance for Rangers.

Rory Wilson was another highly rated youngster who left the club, joining Aston Villa in 2022.

Ross McCrorie arguably represents one of the clearest examples of an academy product from that era making a sustained impact in the Rangers first team, although his long-term involvement at Ibrox was limited.

That record has led to questions over whether Mulholland is the ideal figure to now advise the rest of Scottish football on developing young players.

Writing in the Daily Record, Keith Jackson highlighted the apparent contradiction surrounding Mulholland’s new role and his previous work at Rangers.

The central issue is that someone who was previously responsible for developing academy players at Ibrox is now telling other clubs how they can improve their own youth pathways.

What could Mulholland’s proposals mean for Rangers?

Rangers already have one academy graduate making a significant impression in the first team, with Findlay Curtis emerging as one of the club’s brightest young talents.

The 20-year-old has established himself at senior level and has already earned recognition with Scotland, giving him the opportunity to develop into one of the standout academy products of recent years.

Mulholland believes Scottish football needs stronger incentives to ensure more young players are given meaningful opportunities.

He recently argued that introducing requirements for Under-21 players in the Scottish Cup and League Cup, alongside Premiership playing-time targets, could represent an important step forward.

One proposal would require clubs to name two Scotland-eligible Under-21 players in their starting line-ups for Scottish Cup and Premier Sports Cup fixtures.

For Rangers, that could potentially increase the pressure on manager Derek McInnes to provide opportunities to players coming through the academy.

Curtis has already benefited from regular first-team involvement, but there currently appears to be a lack of other Rangers youngsters immediately ready to follow him into the senior side.

That could make Mulholland’s recommendations particularly interesting at Ibrox.

The Rangers hierarchy may therefore find it difficult to ignore the irony of their former academy chief now leading the push for greater youth development across Scottish football, especially when his own record at the club remains open to debate.