GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST is confident midfielder Alex Lowry can go from strength to strength after a stunning Ibrox debut.

Lowry came off the bench to replace Ianis Hagi in the opening stages of the Scottish Cup victory over Stirling Albion on Friday night.

The 18-year-old collected the Man of the Match award after opening the scoring and producing an accomplished display during the 4-0 win.

And Van Bronckhorst reckons Lowry's showing was one of the main positives to take from a straightforward fourth round tie.

Van Bronckhorst said: "I think I have seen many good things today. The main objective is to get through to the next round.

"It is still a cup game so if you are not alert enough it can be very difficult. I think today we were very alert and we didn’t give many chances away, maybe a shot in the second half.

"Overall we were very decent, we scored a lot of goals and could have scored more. I think until the end we were very focused in the game so I am very happy with that and also very happy with the performances of some players.

"We have Leon Balogun back who was out injured, Kemar we could give minutes to and, of course, taking off Hagi wasn’t planned so early in the game.

"We could bring Alex into the game and you could see he was really enjoying his football. I have been impressed with him in the moments he trained with us and I think you saw today what he can bring to the squad.

"He is still a young player so he has many things to improve but I think he is at a good level already. I am happy for him to make his debut and we are now ready to develop him even further.

"Of course you want to give the academy players a pathway to the first team. When you put him in, it is because I have trust in him and his abilities and when he is performing like this of course he makes his manager very proud.

"Not only me but also the club and the academy. I think they are providing us with good talents and hopefully he can continue his development."