The Belgian has pointed to the progression of youngsters in other countries
The argument over the introduction of B teams to Scottish football has long felt like a losing battle for those backing second strings in the SPFL.
The big Belgian is trying to rectify that this year, with academy graduate Robbie Fraser already part of his first-team squad. But Clement reckons it would be far easier to blood more of the Light Blues’ promising kids into his line-up if they were given the chance to experience men’s football during the crucial 17-20 age bracket.
“The step is not that big. And because of that, you also get more players who are at the age of 20, 21, 22, who are ready to play in the first league, because they played at 17, 18, 19, 20 in the second league and they could make the step in between. That is a big step that people are not open to yet.
“Does the opposition surprise me? In a way, yes. In Belgium it also took a long time before the teams agreed to because in the beginning everybody was also afraid of it. And it would be like no fans would come to watch those games. And it's only beneficial for the bigger teams and things like that. Now everybody sees it's not the case. Everybody is winning out of that.
He was the Brugge boss when both Charles de Ketelaere and Maxim de Cuyper both broke through. Attacker De Ketelaere earned the Belgian giants a cool £30million when he joined Milan in 2022 while De Cuyper is set to go for similar sums this week with a string of Premier League clubs on his tail.
Scottish Professional Football League Rangers FC Scotland Football Team Philippe Clement
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rangers' Philippe Clement wants Euro help for Scottish clubsRangers manager Philippe Clement urges Scottish football authorities to follow their Ukrainian counterparts' example of postponing domestic games ahead of important European ties.
Read more »
Rangers' Philippe Clement wants Euro help for Scottish clubsRangers manager Philippe Clement urges Scottish football authorities to follow their Ukrainian counterparts' example of postponing domestic games ahead of important European ties.
Read more »
Philippe Clement on Rangers' Scottish Premiership title hopes: 'Let us rebuild our house'Rangers manager Philippe Clement believes he has a much bigger challenge than Brendan Rodgers as he compared their 'big rebuild' to Celtic's 'small renovation.'
Read more »
The Rangers transfer rules made clear by Philippe Clement amid signing pushThe Ibrox gaffer has just one final week of the window to move players in and out of Ibrox before business closes
Read more »
Hotline warns Philippe Clement he won't have Rangers future he's building forFraser Wilson took your calls as a Kilmarnock scrap book takes shape and Hearts urged to wake up
Read more »
Philippe Clement tells rising Rangers kid exactly what he wants to hearRobbie Fraser wants to repay Clement's faith by stepping in and starring for the first-team this season
Read more »