Rangers manager Philippe Clement praises performance of Linfield youth product after impressing in first start

McCausland had an eventful afternoon against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena with the 20-year-old winning a penalty before having what would have been a dream maiden senior goal ruled out in the first-half for a foul.

Clement’s men went on to win 2-0 thanks to goals from Cyriel Dessers and captain James Tavernier to extend the Belgian’s unbeaten record since taking over from Michael Beale at Ibrox.

Northern Ireland youth international McCausland, who has reportedly been offered a new contract which would see him extend his stay at Rangers until 2027, moved to the club from Linfield’s academy in 2019 and has been a consistent performer for their ‘B’ team in recent times.

He has now played a part in four of their last five matches in all competitions and Clement says he will continue giving chances to young stars.

"He's still a young lad but with the right mentality,” he said. "He works hard in training and is very focused, and I'm also a manager who gives chances to young players if they show the right things in training and I'll pick the right moments to put them on or bring them in.

"But all these things are positive.

"You see players who didn't start on Thursday who are important today, and others who were important on Thursday came in with the right energy, so we are building a good team and that's a very important thing for me.

"I want to see a team, a dressing room, where I don't see a difference with who is starting and who is not starting, but that everybody counts on each other and we are a real team on and off the pitch."