Scotland winning a game comfortably has an extra edge of joy to it when a Rangers player scores one of the goal and assists the other one.

Nathan Patterson continued to make the right-back starting position for the national team his own with another impressive display. His attributes lend well to the right wing-back role under Clarke, and it’s to his credit that this is happening while unable to find consistent game time for Rangers. His goal on Friday was the first for the national team for a current Rangers player since Steven Naismith in September 2011, a stat that would be unbelievable in any other era and will never be repeated.

The glowing comments from teammates after the game show how highly he is rated in the camp. Rival fans never seem to miss an opportunity to talk down the need for Patterson within the Scotland team, but the 20-year old is taking it all in his stride.

It’s unfortunate that he will miss the Denmark game and a chance to rack up more minutes because of suspension, but this is only the start for Patterson. The big question comes for him at club level: will a new manager find a place for both Patterson and Tavernier in the post-Gerrard era?

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Patterson isn’t the only young talent keen to make themselves part of the furniture in the Scotland team. Billy Gilmour has grown into one of the first names on the team sheet. Similar to Patterson, the midfielder is struggling for game time as former boss Daniel Farke continued to opt for other options in a struggling Norwich team.

Gilmour’s qualities are exceptional and difficult not to get carried away with. There is a remarkable calmness to his game. If it wasn’t for the baby-face, you would refuse to believe he is only 20. Gilmour fills a similar role for Scotland that Steven Davis does for Rangers and with a similar class. The main difference being Davis has 16 years more experience than the relative rookie, yet Gilmour looks just as comfortable.

His game intelligence and vision are growing at an incredible rate. He sees passes and movement few others do. Gilmour sitting at the base of the Scotland midfield for the next 15 years is a prospect that can only be positive for future tournaments and potential qualification opportunities.

It may be a bittersweet point to make, but Gilmour looks like he could go on to be the best player yet produced from Auchenhowie. He was snapped up by Chelsea before Rangers even had a realistic opportunity to bed him into the first team squad. His talent was on the radar of everyone following the youth players at Ibrox since he was a nipper, yet the only benefit Rangers may ever receive from developing this prodigious talent is a development fee.

This is the galling reality of producing elite players for a club like Rangers; the top academies across Europe are so aware of what is going on and ruthlessly snap up the best talent before they are close to the first team.

While Rangers can't expect to properly financially benefit from Gilmour, they can at least ask the question of Chelsea about a loan move this summer when it comes to potentially replacing a significant amount of the squad. Chelsea may well want him to stay in the Premier League, but if Rangers have Champions League football to offer him it could be a more interesting proposition.

Auchenhowie has had its criticism and detractors over the years, and rightly so on many occasions. The academy failed its big test between 2012 and 2016; Rangers lingered in the lower leagues and not one player from the academy managed to truly make the grade.

There was undoubtedly a mix of mismanagement of the system within that, but with hindsight, the careers of all players from that time have stagnated. Barrie McKay was the closest to a success story but ultimately left for a six-figure fee and did not manage to progress.

It is a systemic failure that the academy system has not managed to produce a succession of talents that can move into the first team and be sold on. The pathway from academy to first team at Rangers has always been a tightrope act between giving young players the chance to grow into the team while protecting them from the sometimes unforgiving pressure of the Ibrox crowd. Rangers fans are crying out to see more players coming through into the team, yet Alan Hutton remains the only player to leave for a significant fee.

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It should be a prerequisite of any Rangers manager that at least one player joins the first team player from the academy every season, with the intention to actually supply them with game time. The structures should be there that allows this to happen and for the player to be supported through the transition.

Gilmour and Patterson look to potentially be the strongest players to come through the Rangers youth system in a generation and their differing paths show the joy and frustration a youth system can bring. Gilmour will always have ties to Rangers and his roots will always remain the same even if he goes on to be one of the elite players in the world, yet will reap no benefits from future potential astronomical transfer fees.

Patterson represents an exciting opportunity for the club. His potential is exceptional and interest already exists in England. It’s for the player and club to decide if he wants to establish himself in the first team for a few years, or does he become the record sale of a Rangers player?

The development of Patterson and Gilmour suggests the infrastructure at Rangers has improved to compliment the Auchenhowie facility.

Two 20-year-old academy talents in the Scotland team is a terrific sight to see, the future looks much brighter if that pattern continues.