Shanks dished out a few home truths to Gers

Rangers should shop local next month and find bargains in their backyard

- BARRY FERGUSON

IT'S something that's been grating on me for a while now.

Call it snobbery or ignorance, whatever you want, but it can't go on. Rangers simply cannot afford to miss out on any more top players in their own backyard.

And the man who scored against them again for Hearts on Sunday - Lawrence Shankland is the prime example.

It's not just Shankland, though. It's a bigger issue. In general, there's a real ignorance towards Scottish-based players right now I'm not saying there are loads of guys out there who could play for Rangers and Celtic every week and become superstars.

But there are definitely players who could do a right good job for either club. I saw it in my own career at Rangers when we signed guys like Neil McCann, Steven Naismith, Kris Boyd, Billy Dodds and Kirk Broadfoot.

I could go on, the list is endless. I don't know why people want to look elsewhere for players whether it's down south or abroad.

First and foremost, you have to look closer to home.

The players I'm talking about didn't play every game for Rangers.

But they understood the Scottish game and knew what Rangers meant to so many people. And they bought into it.

Of course, foreign players can do that too. Guys, like Arthur Numan, were brilliant for us.