BILLY KIRKWOOD believes his Murray Park colleague Ian Durrant should be the inspirational figure every youth player should look up to as they bid to make the grade at Rangers.

Durrant was a Govan boy who joined his boyhood team while at school and, after coming through the coaching system, he made his first-team debut against Morton in April 1987 at the tender age of 19.

The following season saw the prodigious talent established as a permanent fixture in Jock Wallace's team and Graeme Souness' arrival at Ibrox meant he would have sole use of the No. 10 shirt for the whole of the 1986/87 season.

While his career at Rangers, with its 347 appearances spawning 45 goals, continued through till '98 the early campaigns at the start of the 90s will remain in the memory as the great Durrant years and his tally of three Championship, three Scottish Cup and four League Cup medals speaks for itself.

The former midfielder, now 41, is currently the club's Reserve coach although he also plays a key role within the first-team set-up.

Kirkwood feels his good friend is the perfect role model for the club's current batch of talented youngsters who dream of making it at Rangers.

He said: "Durranty is the classic example of a young player who went on to become a legend at the club he supported.

"He lived the dream and although he had so much natural ability he also worked extremely hard to become the player he was.

"All the boys at Murray Park should be looking up to him as a role model because he was an exceptional footballer."

Kirkwood, of course, led Rangers under-19s to their second consecutive league and cup double in 2007/08 and many of his stars will now move up into Durrant's Reserves when they return from their well earned summer breaks.

Andrew Shinnie, Isa Bagci and Steven Kinniburgh are among six or seven starlets expected to be involved with the club's second string and Billy has urged them to grasp the opportunity with both hands.

"When Jim Sinclair first came in as Head of Youth Development his aim was for the club to have a good, young Reserve team within two years and next season I think we will have that.

"It will be made up of players that won the double with the under-19s in 2006/07 and a batch that won the double last month.

"So there will be a pool of around 15 players who all have great potential.

"But what we need now is for these guys to kick on in the Reserves and there will be a conscience effort from the club to keep this predominantly an under-21 team.

"Obviously there will be a couple of first-team boys joining in but this might not be on such a regular basis.

"So we are hoping these boys can stand out at this level and push their way into the gaffer's plans.

"During his first spell at the club in the 90s there were players that came through such as Steven Pressley, David Hagen, Charlie Miller and Gary McSwegan and we would like to see our current batch edge their way in to the first-team squad like these lads did.

"But overall I think everyone in the youth department, including the coaches, scouts and physios, are delighted with the way things are progressing as a lot of hard work has been put in.

"We have a good team behind the seasons as well as on the pitch and the most important thing is that the players we have are progressing.

"It is nice to win trophies but we want to see the boys coming through the ranks reach first-team level and that is ultimately how we will be judged."

With Walter Smith expected to bring in a number of new signings in the summer, Kirky insists that it will be up to the club's rising stars to hit the ground running when they return for pre-season training on June 30.

He said: "This will be very important. It will be a matter of coming back, rolling the sleeves up and impressing the manager and the coaches straight away.

"We are hopeful that on a daily basis there will be four or five young players training with the first-team and from there it is up to them to show a desire to succeed and the character that is required.

"For all the boys the challenge is to step up again next season and show that they have the right mentality to be a Rangers player.

"When you are at a club like this you need to be able to dig deep when the chips are down and get results.

"You have to have that drive and winning streak if you are going to succeed here.

"The first-team has shown an unbelievable level of commitment in the past ten months and our young boys only have to look at them to see what is required.

"You can have excellent ability but there are more ingredients needed than just that to make the grade here at Murray Park."

One player that recently got his first taste of playing in front of a packed Ibrox Stadium was Dean Furman who replaced the injured Kevin Thomson against Dundee United on May 10.

The South African made the most of his unexpected debut in this must-win fixture and did not look out of place alongside captain Barry Ferguson in the heart of the Gers' midfield.

Kirky said: "It was a surprise for Dean to play against United.

"Normally you get sent out to warm up and it is someone else that goes on but Dean's name was shouted and he was on the pitch within 20 seconds.

"There was no time for him to get nervous and I thought he did very well when he went on.

"He has great attitude and has been working hard with the Reserves so he deserved his chance.

"Seeing that happen to Dean gives all the youth players and coaches a massive lift because that's what we are striving for at the end of the day.

"A few of them have now had a taste of playing for the first-team and the next step is for them to cement their place in the manager's plans for next season."

Billy was delighted to see his under-19 team, skippered by Andrew Shinnie, dominate Scottish football at this age level for a second year and feels his players are progressing at a healthy rate.

"Looking at our team I think that Scott Gallacher had a tremendous season in goals and he is maturing as a keeper.

"We are pleased with his progress but the same can be said for players throughout the team.

"Flecky and Georgos Efrem get a lot of attention but I think collectively there have been a lot of consistent performers for the 19s.

"Ross Harvey has been excellent and Danny Wilson, despite getting injured towards the end of the season, has done very well.

"It has been a collective effort both on and off the pitch and seeing the boys secure a domestic double was terrific as it makes all the hard work worthwhile."