ROSS McCRORIE could have walked out at Hampden in front of 50,000 fans on Sunday had his career taken a different path.
Tonight he will have his own Old Firm experience as friends and family watch on and Rangers bid for Youth Cup glory.
The defender has been a regular feature of the Light Blues’ Under-20 squad this term and made the move to Dumbarton in January to gain first team experience.
While he has been battling for Championship survival, David Bates and Myles Beerman have been given their chances to impress in the Premiership by Pedro Caixinha.
McCrorie never got an opportunity to stake his claim for the place that has been filled by Bates but the captain is confident his big break will still come when he returns to Ibrox.
He said: “The timing's unfortunate. Craig Mulholland spoke to me and asked how I felt and I said I was a bit gutted to have missed out on a potential opportunity, but coming to Dumbarton has definitely been a good thing for the long-run.
“Getting the experience of all these games under my belt will give me something to take into pre-season. Hopefully I can break into the first team squad at Rangers then.
“On the days I'm not in at Dumbarton I've been training with Rangers.
“The manager comes up, shakes your hand and makes you feel welcome. It's the same with the other coaches.
“JJ (Jonatan Johansson) has just come in but he came up, shook my hand and said 'well done, I hear you played well at the weekend'. It's great to hear stuff like that.
“Myles and David have done really well since they've been given their chance and it gives the rest of us belief that we could do the same.
“There aren't any excuses for young players at Rangers any more. Things have changed.
“We can't go out and spend money on big players anymore so hopefully this is when we start using the youth. Myles have done really well and hopefully we can do the same.”
McCrorie has made eight appearances for the Sons under the watchful eye of boss Stevie Aitken and his former Auchenhowie mentor Ian Durrant.
The Sons are on the brink of retaining their second tier status once again and face a tricky trip to Tannadice this weekend as they look to get over the line.
It is the Gers that will be the 19-year-old’s only focus tonight, however, as Graeme Murty’s side bid for derby success.
And McCrorie is determined to make amends for their defeat to Celtic two years ago and lead a youthful Light Blue line-up to Hampden glory.
He said: “I've played in plenty of Old Firm youth games. I played in the Youth Cup Final against Celtic a couple of years ago, as one of the younger players. We were disappointed with the end result, losing 5-2.
“Playing at Hampden will be a new experience for a lot of the boys. Some of them experienced it in the Glasgow Cup, but the Youth Cup Final is a completely different experience.
“I went along to the game on Sunday. The atmosphere was incredible but obviously it was a disappointing result.
“It'll be a different sort of spectacle on Wednesday. It's behind closed doors so we'll have about 48,000 less people there!
“It's a Cup Final and that makes it a bit extra special. We get some tickets for family members and friends. Some schools get tickets as well.
“It's a shame it couldn't be opened up to the general public. The Glasgow Cup Final against Celtic was the last one and it was a great experience. It gives you a taste of what it might be like in the first team.”
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