MEET the future of Rangers - or at least a good part of it. These 15-year-old starlets, are just some of the many youngsters being groomed on the conveyor-belt of talent at Murray Park.

Their names are Danny Wilson, Jamie Ness, Grant Adam, Scott Durie, Stephen Forbes, Gregg Wylde, John Fleck and Archie Campbell.

John Fleck is the nephew of former Rangers striker Robert. Scott Durie is the son of Gordon. Grant Adam already has an older brother, Charlie, making his name at Ibrox.

They're among the most exciting youth talent anywhere in Scotland.

Together, they made up the bulk of the Scotland under-16 team that came close to lifting the Victory Shield at England's expense the month before last.

The odds are good that at least some of them will reach Rangers' first team, following in the footsteps of Chris Burke, Alan Hutton and Steven Smith.

"By Scottish standards they are all very good young players," says Jim Sinclair, who heads Rangers' youth development programme. "But they're still extremely young, with many twists and turns ahead of them."

None of the players takes anything for granted. While excited to be part of one of Europe's biggest clubs, and eager to make their mark in the Rangers first team, they know it won't happen overnight.

John Fleck is probably the most talked-about rising star in Scots football, but he comes across as just another 15-year-old.

He has already agreed to a four-year deal with Rangers, and adidas have shrewdly signed him up as well. But for all that he has achieved so far, including several appearances for Rangers' under-19 team and the national under-16 team, his feet are firmly on the ground.

"It's gone pretty well for me so far but you never know what's going to happen in the future," he says. "Obviously, I'd love to play for the Rangers first team as often as possible."

John, who recently left Knightswood Academy, added: "I've always supported Rangers and it's brilliant being part of the set-up at Murray Park."

The wiry teenager scored three goals in the under-19s' 9-0 win over Morton in the SFA Under-19 Cup - not bad for someone who plays left midfield and prefers the centre-midfield role.

Some have compared him to Wayne Rooney, but even such extravagant praise does not put him off his level-headed stride.

Gregg Wylde, from Kirkintilloch, is the son of Gordon, head coach at East Stirling. The left-sided midfielder, part of Celtic's under-15 group until last season, has now signed a professional contract with Rangers.

Fife-born striker Archie Campbell was previously with Cowdenbeath and joined Rangers at under-14 level. Scott Durie, also from Fife, is a talented centre-back, like Danny Wilson, from Livingstone, who is currently sitting eight Standard Grades, all at credit level.

Jamie Ness, who already stands at more than 6ft, attends Marr College in Troon.

Jim, whose previous post was the SFA's director of football development, says that Rangers have been widening the scouting coverage in recent months.

It now includes Lanarkshire ("a hotbed of talented players", says Jim) and Edinburgh ("Hibs and Hearts have had easy pickings there for far too long").

The club has a network of scouts at home and abroad, forever on the lookout for new footballing talent. It's hard to define exactly what they're looking for - but they know it when they see it.

"The type of players that we hope to bring are obviously those who have ability, and some kind of game awareness. We can examine where that awareness started and stopped, and where we can fill in the blanks," says Jim.

"Critically, they have to be athletic - we are not blessed with too many athletic players in this country, and the more we can make of that, the better.

"The player also has to have a positive attitude, to be a winner, to be able to demonstrate a solid type of character on the pitch, who can compete both in and out of adversity."

Jim adds: "As with all young players, they're not the finished article. Even if they are, their form can dip, so they have to be watched on a number of occasions.

"I want to ensure every youngster who enters the programme has been seen either by me or by one of the coaching staff."

Promising teens who are singled out from school or boys' club teams will often not be signed immediately. Instead they're invited to train at Murray Park for up to six weeks to get used to the speed and fitness that the club demands.

"But that alone," reckons Jim, "can be a burden to a young kid, just putting on the Rangers strip for the first time."

Murray Park - the £14million facility opened in 2001 - currently has around 140 youngsters, spread across teams ranging from under-10 to under-19.

The numbers sound healthy, but Rangers and other clubs acknowledge that a sedentary PlayStation generation has switched off from street football kickabouts in large numbers.

"That makes it a tougher challenge for all clubs to produce young players," says Jim.

Those 140 youngsters have done well to get this far. The truth, however, is that not all of them will graduate to playing in front of 50,000 fans at Ibrox.

Jim's sense of realism extends to the Victory Shield group.

"Very few members of youth teams in the past made it full-time in the top level of the game.

"That's not to say that this group will be any different. But we hope they can overcome the hurdles in their path."