When Mark Spalding talks about the pathway from academy football to the Rangers first-team, it is hard to imagine youngsters NOT making it at Ibrox.

Spalding's enthusiasm shines through as he discusses those he works with and their chances of making the step up. That's because the 34-year-old knows first-hand the sort of coaching and care the players get at Ibrox all the way from under-14s up to Gers skipper James Tavernier and co.

The Head of Intermediate Academy at Rangers has previously worked overseas in America as well as in first-team football himself at St Mirren and Dumbarton. Nothing compares to Gers' infrastructure, though.

Not that anything has taken the coach by surprise. Not the standard of equipment available to the kids, nor the attention to detail in the seminars - currently being undertaken via Zoom due to the coronavirus and lockdown protocols.

Spalding's only hope - and, indeed, expectation - is that the young players playing in the academy can take advantage of everything they have in front of them to make it to the first-team.  "I've not been shocked at all because I always knew the standards at this club were so high," he said.

"Coming into it you start to see the layers of work and all the different departments. It can be overwhelming for a week or two but once you work out all the different facets of the club, you become part of that well-oiled machine.

"You look at some of the staff working with the young players who have great experience of the game. The academy strategy is terrific, that one club approach. We want the player pathway to be smooth and seamless. We've seen Nathan Patterson playing in the first-team and for the young lads that's inspirational. They're asking, 'How do I get there?' and they want to aspire to be there.

"They all have potential and it's my job and others' jobs to enhance their potential well enough that they can go and play in the first-team. There are so many players with promise in the academy right now. You don't get to Rangers without that.

"There have already been some successes, look at the Challenge Cup, the team got to the semi-finals against Inverness. That's aspirational to all the players and in the Uefa Youth League against the likes of Atletico Madrid. It has given them a taste. Everyone will want to be the next one through."

Online coaching may have its drawbacks, certainly compared to in-person discussions, but Spalding seems to enjoy it nonetheless. His own standards have not dropped and Head of Academy Craig Mulholland's have also remained at the highest level. With the likes of Graeme Murty and first-team assistant manager Gary McAllister regularly popping in to see player progress, efforts must always be tip-top.

But the appearance of these big names serve as a motivator for the youngsters. And shows that the long-term strategy at the club is to develop these kids into fully fledged starters. "We had a webinar last week and Gary McAllister was on it," Spalding went on.

"The kids are talking through footage, some of which included first-team footage, and they're talking about what they're seeing and how it relates to our game model. Gary is joining in on the conversation with the boys which is incredible. Not many other clubs do that where the assistant manager is on an under-13s webinar.

"The lads are getting to see that and they revel in it. It's that connectivity which is really important. Michael Beale does things with academy groups, too, so there's more and more of this happening. I know [Steven Gerrard] and staff watch a lot of the 16s and 18s and above. Everything we're doing is to get these players there, it's all based on them being successful further up the chain.

"The management have a real good grasp of who the players are. Sometimes you can feel a degree of separation between academy and first-team but you don't feel that at Rangers."

Fitness and mental strength must be maintained to the usual high levels, even through the current pandemic, at every level of football clubs around the country. But Spalding is confident the programmes set up by the Light Blues coaching staff will keep boys in good shape. "Our players have access to ball work and we have tactical webinars," he said. "They get sent out a voice-over webinar on a Monday which has all key instructions and then we do it live on a Thursday to check they're understanding it.

"We've tried to get as modern as we can so we have a private Instagram where our sports science guys put up a variety of exercises which are all age and stage related. A lot of it is body work and aerobic stuff for the younger boys but maybe for some of the older guys it'll be more detailed things about specific weights and things. It's all there for them."