Rangers boss thinks young McCrorie could handle Celtic clash
The teenager was brought on during the League Cup quarter final win against Partick Thistle
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha insists he will have no hesitation handing teenager Ross McCrorie a baptism of fire in Saturday's Old Firm showdown.
The Ibrox youngster was thrown on for his first-team debut as Rangers scraped into the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Partick Thistle after extra-time.
The 19-year-old was a second-half replacement for veteran centre-back Bruno Alves, who limped off with a calf injury and is now a doubt for this weekend's opening derby clash with the Hoops in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
But Caixinha rates McCrorie so highly, he says he will happily let him take Alves' slot once more and is willing to start him when Brendan Rodgers' leagues leaders visit Ibrox.
Caixinha - whose injury fears increased after left-back Declan John also limped off with a thigh strain - said: "Ross McCrorie is going to be one of the best centre-halves in history, not just for this club but for this country.
"You just need to see what he did. He was brilliant.
"It's not about age or names. It's about getting the chance to prove it.
"I have no concerns about him. I never had and never will have. If he needs to play on Saturday, he will play.
"If Declan is unavailable then we have Lee Hodson as an option as well.''
Carlos Pena marked his first start for Rangers with the second-half opener at the Energy Match Stadium but Kris Doolan grabbed a last-gasp leveller and extra-time was the last thing Caixinha needed ahead of Saturday's clash.
The game was quickly put to bed as Daniel Candeias and Eduardo Herrera fired home the goals which booked Rangers' place in Thursday's draw for the last-four.
Caixinha said: "We deserved to be winners in 90 minutes but we missed a lot of chances.
"In extra-time we played the way we want to play
"People talk about out fitness but my players ran and ran and ran and ran like the rabbits with the batteries
"Everybody saw the difference in extra-time.''
Thistle boss Alan Archibald said: "Disappointment is the over-riding emotion. I'm a bit bemused, I didn't see that coming at the start of extra-time.
"I thought we finished the game really strongly. Probably the worst thing that could have happened was the final whistle because I felt we were strong and Rangers were sitting off us. I thought we deserved our goal at the time."