Aaron Ramsey's Rangers influence rising as Juventus loanee delivers glowing verdict on 3 Ibrox youngsters

Jermain Defoe was loved by his Rangers team-mates as much for his influence off the pitch as the goals he scored on it.

Chances are, Aaron Ramsey is contributing in a similar manner this term, even if his injury-hit two months at Ibrox have seen him limited to just two starts since his arrival in the closing hours of the January transfer window.

The Welshman’s performance in the second of those, though, against Dundee in Sunday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup win, would suggest Ramsey is about to play a more pivotal role in the climax to the season.

Rangers have eight league games left, are in the last four of the Cup and have a great chance of advancing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League if they finish the job against Red Star in Belgrade on Thursday.

Assuming the 3-0 first-leg lead is enough, that will mean a minimum of a dozen crucial matches, including Thursday’s, for the Juventus midfielder to finally make his mark on the grass.

On the training ground, though, it looks like his influence is already being measured by the progress being made by a trio of young midfielders who could well be the engine room of the future.

Rangers ended the match at Dens with 21-year-old James Sands, Charlie McCann (19) and Alex Lowry (18) in the middle of the park.

Sands started the game, operating in a similar fashion to John Lundstram recently, while the teenagers came on with the game effectively won, but made a positive impact with Lowry setting up Fashion Sakala for the third goal.

Sands was efficient and effective. Stats show his pass success rate was 91 per cent and he won 11 out of his 14 challenges on the deck and in the air.

He may not have the eye-catching flair of McCann or Lowry but Van Bronckhorst is more likely to use