Rangers youngster Ross McCrorie can be the future in Dark Blue as well as Light

BRUNO ALVES has been praised for a special intervention which stands to benefit not just Rangers but also Scotland.

The Portuguese, part of his country’s Euro 2016 winning team, stepped in to help the Light Blues teenage defender Ross McCrorie on the back of his tough afternoon against Hamilton Accies.

His short passback led to a goal and ultimately the visitors’ first win at Ibrox since 1926.

“That Hamilton game was pretty disastrous, to be honest,” said McCrorie.

“I didn’t enjoy it at all, but that’s what happens. There are going to be mistakes.

“When we came back into training on the Monday, Bruno sat me down and spoke to me.

“He said, ‘These things happen. It’s all about reaction – be confident’.

“Bruno told me that he’d done something similar and that made me feel a bit better.

“Mistakes like that are natural. It will make you a better player. You learn from it.

“Bruno told me to be confident in the next game and that’s what I did. I was thankful that he spoke to me.

“It means a lot coming from a guy like him, someone who has won the Euros.”

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For Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty, the effect the conversation had on the young player cannot be underestimated.

“I always think you look at guys not when things are going well, but when things aren’t working out for them or they are having a test,” he said.

“Ross had a massive test against Hamilton and he made a really big mistake.

“Since that moment, he’s stood up even stronger. I think that tells you all you need to know about his character.

“He’s not someone who shirks or hides.

“I think he embodies some really good values not only from the academy, but from the first team in terms of that bravery to go and be a Rangers player, whether it’s easy or hard.

“For a 19-year-old man, I think that’s a really big accolade.

“He’s grown up a Rangers fan, seeing some fantastic teams. He wants to emulate those guys. To live up to those values.

“He could mature – because he’s still a young guy – into a very good player for this club over a long period of time.”

And, Murty believes, for his country too.

“I’ve seen him play for Scotland age groups in that position – in front of the back-four – and I think you realise by now that I trust the kid,” he said.

“I trust his mentality, his ability and his learning to go on and apply stuff at a high standard.

“We talked about Ryan Jack going up to Aberdeen and playing right-back, out of his position for Scotland against the Netherlands, and his tactical wherewithal to go and do that.

“We’ve now seen that from Ross to a high standard.

“He can play both sides of full-back, centre-back in a two or three and now demonstrated against a very good team that he can go and play as a holding midfield player.

“So he’s a conundrum for me, finding his best position. But for a Scotland manager of any age group or first team, you can rely on him to put in a level of performance in whatever tactical position you give him.”