Latest news with #ConnorBarron
Daily Record
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Connor Barron takes Rangers captain's role in his stride as telling Russell Martin nod leaves him hungry for more
Connor Barron takes Rangers captain's role in his stride as telling Russell Martin nod leaves him hungry for more Barron was handed the armband for Brugge friendly after just a week working under the new Ibrox manager Connor Barron leads Rangers out as captain Connor Barron had only been working under Russell Martin for a week at Rangers when he was handed the captain's armband. He might not be about to replace James Tavernier as permanent skipper at Ibrox. But it was a sure-fire sign that the Scot will have a major role to play under the new gaffer this season. Barron was given extra time off over the summer after being on Scotland duty. But just days after his return, Martin entrusted him with leading out his team at Ibrox for the friendly draw with Club Brugge. While most fans expected his midfield partner, Nico Raskin, to do that job, it was Gers' number eight instead. It's an honour Barron will never take for granted, having done it before in a game against former club Aberdeen last season. The 22-year-old thrives on the added responsibility. But Barron is adamant that - whether he's captain or not - Martin will get the same level of commitment every day while he's at Rangers. Article continues below He's got huge competition for a place now in the Ibrox engine room with the summer arrivals of Joe Rothwell and Thelo Aasgaard. But it's not in Barron's nature to shirk a challenge. As he reflected on being made captain in Martin's first game in charge, he said: 'It was quality to be named captain, a really nice moment for me again. Rangers' Connor Barron in action during a pre-season friendly match against Club Brugge 'Obviously, I wore the armband before up in Aberdeen last season which was great for me. 'To get it again last Sunday was really good. But nothing changes within my game as a result of that. 'I'll always stay the same player. I'll train the same and play the same way. It's obviously an added responsibility for me but I welcome that. 'To be captain of Rangers is a nice feeling and hopefully I'll get to experience it again. 'I only found out at the team meeting when the manager announced who was playing. 'It was great to hear but it's down to me to keep training well, performing on the pitch - and getting his trust to do it. 'It just makes me want even more responsibility. "I'm a determined guy. I won't settle, I'll always strive for more success. 'For me, it's just about me doing my job and trying to make sure I help others around me. And hopefully I've shown the manager who I am on the pitch. 'We have a lot of big characters in that dressing-room and we have now added in a few more. But for us as a team moving forward that can only be a good thing.' Barron has made his name in Scottish football - not just for his technical ability - but his willingness to graft. The former Dons kid, who made his international debut against Liechtenstein last month, is renowned for biting at opposition players' ankles. Those qualities should endear him to Martin, who likes his team to press and smother opponents. Barron believes his style fits with the manager's. Celtic's Arne Engels and Rangers' Connor Barron battle for the ball He said: 'It's been really good under him so far. 'Along with his staff, he's been brilliant and there's been lots for the boys to take in. 'Obviously I came in a week later but I've tried to take everything in like a sponge and then put it into practice in games. 'I'm so excited to be part of this. I'm buzzing off the style the manager wants to play. It's been great to have that amount of detail, especially in terms of game understanding. 'It's about understanding your position on the pitch, other players' positions - and then building those relationships. 'That will continue to grow as we've only really had a couple of weeks of us all being together. 'I think my own game will suit this style, in terms of pressing teams high and getting in their faces. 'It will suit me a lot and I feel I'm adaptable as well. I can play in a few positions. I just need to do everything I can in training to adapt to what the gaffer wants - and then make sure I'm ready for the games coming up.' Rangers earned a 2-2 draw against Belgian side Brugge at the weekend and have spent this week training at England's St George's Park base. Their first competitive match of the campaign will be a vital Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos on July 22 at Ibrox. Despite their lack of action, Barron says there's already a togetherness being forged within Martin's new-look squad - and insists they WILL be ready to take on the Greeks. He said: 'The boys have come in and settled in really quickly. It's only been a week or so but there's a really good feeling within the group already. 'There's a real team feeling about it. We've welcomed them with open arms and hopefully there will be more to come. 'We learned a lot from the Brugge game. Obviously, we always want to win but result-wise, it was a good comeback. 'We will be ready for Panathinaikos. We have to be ready. Article continues below 'We've still got almost two weeks until the game and we'll be doing everything before that to make sure we're ready for it.'
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
What did Martin's first game as Rangers boss tell us?
A crowd of nearly 30,000 braved the Scottish July drizzle to cheer on Rangers in Russell Martin's first game as head coach at from Hugo Vetlesen and Ludovit Reis gave Club Brugge a 2-0 half-time lead in the pre-season friendly at Ibrox, but Mohamed Diomande and secured a draw for the hosts after the what can we deduce from this first taste of the former Southampton manager and Rangers defender's reign? He chose tough opponents for his debut Club Brugge made the last 16 of the Champions League last season, and were runners-up in the Belgian Pro League, and looked sharp right from the off. They were two up in 12 minutes and were unfazed by anything Rangers threw at them, including some inclement Govan rain showers. He's not afraid to mix things up Whether this is a sign of what's to come or just a temporary fix for a friendly, 22-year-old Scotland midfielder Connor Barron was given the captain's armband while James Tavernier had to do with a seat on the bench. Alongside him was compatriot Jack Butland, with Liam Kelly given the nod in goal in front of the former England international. Two 21-year-olds - winger Oscar Cortes and defender Leon King - plus 18-year-old midfielder Findlay Curtis, who made a combined 21 appearances last season, all started. Presumably the manager is keen to see what kind of depth of squad he has at his disposal, with several stars missing and some new players not yet up to speed. There's plenty of work to do One of Rangers' biggest games of the season is just over a fortnight away; Panathanaikos in the Champions League has a lot of hard work to do with the squad if they're to be properly competitive against the Greeks. The old faithfuls improved things Butland, Tavernier, midfielder Mohamed Diomande and winger Nedim Bajrami all started on the bench before coming on at half-time. The outfield players made a marked, and instant, difference to Rangers. Diomande only took six minutes to curl in a very nice goal from the edge of the area and very nearly had a long-range second. You can't read too much into pre-season friendlies in which both sides change virtually the entire team from one half to the next, but Rangers' energy after the break was much improved. New boys need to get up to speed This was a Rangers side minus new signings Thelo Aasgaard, Joe Rothwell and Lyall Dessers and Hamza Igamane were also missing, with both heavily linked to moves away from new signings need to get up to speed - and quickly - while Rangers will need to sign a striker or two if those two are allowed to leave. Martin won't be boring to watch Martin was a picture of activity in his technical area. Encouraging his side to press; asking them to be bold and play a high line. Sometimes throwing his arms up in frustration when his message wasn't heard or understood. The jacket came off when the rain eased and he was a bundle of energy on the touchline. He's all-in and clearly wants the same from his players. And sharpish.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Dons eye loans instead of under-19s to speed youth into first team
Aberdeen have changed the focus of their academy system to give young players earlier first-team experience by using Scottish football's new loan system while being "more aggressive" in attracting talent from other parts of the country and Scottish Premiership club has decided it will not participate in the new Club Academy Scotland (CAS) Under-19s programme and will instead train players at that level with the first-team under a new "transition coach".Meanwhile, Aberdeen will make use of the "more flexible" new co-operation agreements with lower-level clubs where young players can be sent out on loan but recalled at any time outside of normal transfer say it is a result of some "difficult conversations" in an "extensive review" over how "to make best use of our £2.2m annual investment in youth development". They say the transition of players from youth football to the first-team "has been getting progressively more difficult over the last decade" for all clubs and concluded "we have not adequately resourced" this Aberdeen were disappointed with the level of compensation for midfielder Connor Barron's switch to Rangers last summer and the effects of Brexit on the UK transfer of football Steven Gunn told the club website said they needed a different approach "focusing on quality and not quantity"."As a result, our young players won't be taking part in the newly adopted CAS U19s programme, but we will compete in the new CAS U17s format where the team will be predominantly made up of our schoolboys playing up an age group," he "expose our best young players to senior, competitive football at a much younger age", this group, "sitting under the transition coach", who will be appointed in the coming weeks, "will train with first team on a daily basis".Gunn said Aberdeen "has committed additional budget" and would "take a much more aggressive approach to strategic recruitment of younger players, both from Scotland and abroad, to complement the very best players progressing from our own academy".
Glasgow Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow school among winners in anti-racism competition
Holyrood Secondary School, in Glasgow, Sanderson High School in South Lanarkshire, and Gryffe High School in Renfrewshire were recognised for their creative efforts in the Show Racism the Red Card's (SRtRC) competition. The event at Hampden Park in Glasgow saw the participation of more than 100 young, active anti-racists from across Scotland. Show Racism the Red Card Scotland - Creative Competition (Image: Supplied) More than 3,100 entries were received from children in primary one to college students. Che Adams, Connor Barron, and James Wilson were among those who attended the ceremony, along with Minister for Equalities, Kaukab Stewart, and sportscotland chief executive officer, Forbes Dunlop. Read more: 'Something happened': Family of Cole Cooper demand 'full truth' after body found Health board praised for frontline innovation and compassionate leadership Eco partnership launched in Glasgow to cut home energy use The competition aims to inspire young people across Scotland to use their creativity to design thought-provoking work that raises awareness of racism and promotes an anti-racist message. This year's theme was 'The Power of Our Voice'. Martyn Ware, director of policy, analysis, and standards at SQA, said: "Education has a critical role to play in tackling racism and promoting an anti-racist culture in our society." Billy Singh, campaign manager for Show Racism the Red Card in Scotland, said: "The Show Racism the Red Card's Creative Competition has again inspired young people across Scotland to use their creativity to design thought-provoking artwork that raises awareness of racism and promotes a strong anti-racist message. "This year, we have seen some truly inspirational work, and our judges faced some really difficult decisions deciding upon our overall winners. "I want to thank everyone who took part in this year's competition; we never cease to be amazed by the young people who get involved and their willingness to learn and want a more caring and inclusive Scotland."
Glasgow Times
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?
The youthfulness of Steve Clarke's squad for the friendly internationals against Iceland and Liechtenstein this month has, what with Connor Barron, Kieron Bowie, Tommy Conway, Josh Doig, Billy Gilmour, Max Johnston, Lennon Miller, Nathan Patterson and James Wilson all receiving call ups, certainly been heartening. The members of that nonet have an average age of just 21. Every one of them has a huge amount to offer their country at international level for many seasons to come. They have numerous qualifying campaigns left in them and hopefully a few finals too. The same is true of the injured duo Ben Doak, the Liverpool winger, and Aaron Hickey, the Brentford full-back. It was also encouraging to see the SFA roll out their Cooperation System – which will see up to three Scotland-qualified prospects under the age of 21 move freely between Premiership and Championship parent clubs and lower league outfits on loan from the 2025/26 season onwards – this week. Read more: Similar agreements already exist in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. Hopefully the long overdue scheme will enable our best prospects, who have often been prevented from gaining much-needed competitive game time in the senior ranks simply because their presence is needed to satisfy homegrown player quotas in European competition, to make the difficult transition from the age-group ranks. That initiative was one of the main recommendations contained within the Transition Phase paper which was co-authored by Andy Gould, the SFA's chief football officer, and Chris Docherty, the governing body's head of men's elite strategy and was published last year. That report contained many worrying revelations, damning findings and stark conclusions about how poorly Scotland is doing in comparison with other countries of a similar size across Europe when it comes to producing talented young footballers who are capable of flourishing in the paid ranks. But if anybody needed reminding just how few professionals are emerging, Brown Ferguson, the former Alloa, Hamilton and Partick Thistle midfielder and the current Stenhousemuir assistant manager who is also the assistant regional performance manager at sportscotland and the high performance manager to Scottish Golf, took to X (formerly Twitter) to tell us. He posted a series of alarming statistics about the Premiership last season. Here are a few of the most startling. Just 31.46 per cent of players to start games in the top flight were Scottish. That is down from 45 per cent three years ago. On average, just 3.23 per cent of players kicking off on a Saturday are under 21, just four out of 132. No fewer than 20 team selections failed to contain a single Scot. Aberdeen and Celtic didn't start an under-21 player in the 2024/25 campaign. The SFA have identified these major problems and are endeavouring to address them. The SPFL clubs, who in the past have shown they are more concerned with self-interest than the greater good, have endorsed and embraced their plans. But is it too little too late? Our leading clubs face a raft of challenges running academies and bringing through youngsters who are capable of representing their first teams every year. The issues which Brexit and raids on their age-group squads by their wealthier English rivals have presented in recent years have been well documented in these pages. Far fewer footballers who are good enough are emerging. These are pretty exciting times in Scottish football with Brighton owner Tony Bloom buying a major stake in Hearts and a consortium comprising American billionaire Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers taking over Rangers. With Hibernian a far more formidable force than they were and Aberdeen lifted by their epic Scottish Cup triumph, next season promises to be a belter. Read more: But the focus in recent weeks has very much been on how much money every club will spend and who will be brought in this summer. The new powerbrokers seem unconcerned about doing their bit to help our national game by rearing homegrown heroes. Sure, wanting to promote youth has been mentioned in passing. It appears, though, fairly far down their list of priorities. Such is the money mad modern game. There is, with Barron, Bowie, Conway, Doig, Gilmour, Johnston, Miller, Patterson and Wilson as well as Lewis Ferguson, Jack Hendry, George Hirst, Andy Irving, Scott McKenna, Scott McTominay and John Souttar all in the current Scotland squad, no reason for Tartan Army footsoldiers to panic. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) Yet, the World Cup qualifying campaign which will get underway with away games against Denmark and Belarus in September may well prove to be the last that Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, Craig Gordon, Grant Hanley, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Andy Robertson, Lawrence Shankland and Kieran Tierney are involved in. Some will retire after it, others will stay on. But we are witnessing the last hurrah of a golden generation. Will those who come after that aforementioned group grace, as many of their predecessors did, the Premier League and the Champions League? The majority of them still have some way to go to scale the same heights as their compatriots. A few will manage it, but many won't. Clarke lamented how few goalkeepers he had to choose from when he announced his squad last month. He, or his successor, may be left bemoaning the lack of centre-backs, full-backs, holding midfielders, playmakers, wingers and strikers going forward. There must be a concerted collective effort from club owners and managers or qualification for the finals of major tournaments will be a thing of the past.
